Fate-Stay Night: Precognitive Realization
by SilverMan42
Summary: This is the story of a boy named Yuzuru Shindou, an ordinary young man who had gotten himself into the battling ritual known as the Holy Grail War. What will become of him now that he has become part of this war that may result in his death? Will he be able to survive with the help of his Servant? Or will he fall into despair? (Rated M, in case sexual) (Few Tsukihime) (OCxHarem)
1. Introduction

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, enjoy the Introduction.**

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 **Introduction:**

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The Holy Grail War, the battle royale where 7 magi known as Masters and 7 familiars known as Servants must fight to the death to win and obtain the Holy Grail, the omnipotent wish granting device that will grant the wish of any Master and Servant who would claim victory for it. Each Masters are paired with 7 Servants of the legendary heroes of the past known as the Heroic Spirits to fight at their sides for their battle, each with different classes, each with different characteristics, and each from a different history. Each of these 7 classes of these Servants are Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. These Servants paired with their own Masters must battle against each other to fight and to win the fierce battle of the Holy Grail War.

Nearly almost 10 years have passed since the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, and now the time has been brought to peace. Knowing that the Holy Grail War has come to an end, the world will be kept safe from the destruction that nearly could have brought forth the end of Fuyuki City in Japan, thanks to the lives of the young Masters who have fought and survived the war, and putting the Fifth Holy Grail War to a close. However, the time of peace would not last forever. A new Holy Grail War was now about to begin, as this would now be called the Sixth Holy Grail War. Brand new Masters and Servants must now rise once again to fight to win and obtain the Holy Grail. This is the story of how this new Holy Grail War came to be and how it will end, and the story of how these new Young Masters of the Sixth Holy Grail War came to be and to battle in this fierce war.

These are their stories...


	2. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 1

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

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 **Chapter 0: Prologue Part 1**

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The story began in Fuyuki City, years after the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War, where the city was filled with livelihood, the people living their daily lives and dealing with problems of their own, children and teenagers going to school every day, but most of all things, living in their peaceful lives in a peaceful world. One of those people was a boy living in the same normal life as everyone else, and he loved his life the way it is. This is where his story began.

In an apartment complex, which was a very old and very messy apartment building complex, the boy of this story, woke up from his bed and got off to brush his teeth. Afterwards, he got dressed up in his Homurahara Academy uniform, packed up his school bag, and prepared to leave, by trying to move pass through a rough and crowded hallway, which was filled with empty boxes and lots of trashes. After he got out of his apartment, he made sure he locked the door and then leaves for school.

His name is Yuzuru Shindou. He has a neatly combed yet somewhat messy black hair and dark brown eyes, and he has an averagely built body and stands about 5'5" tall. He wears a standard Homurahara Academy uniform, with a blue t-shirt underneath the brown blazer, and wears blue sneakers with black accents and yellow trimmings.

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Yuzuru's POV:

My name is Yuzuru Shindou, I'm 17 years old, and this is my story. I moved to Fuyuki City and I transferred to Homurahara Academy High as a second-year student because of some family reasons. I live in an apartment complex where it was…well, let's just say it was a pretty crappy apartment, and it still is. Why is it crappy? Well, when I first came to that apartment, it was already crappy from the beginning. It was filled with big piles of unnecessary garbage in each of the apartment rooms making them cramped up. And what's worse was that these rooms haven't been cleaned up for God knows how many years and each of them almost reeks like hell. Knowing that, I filed a complaint about it to the owners of the complex to clean up the whole place because of the mess the apartment was. Unfortunately, the manager of the apartment was heavily sick and was sent to the hospital for that reason, and the only one left to watch over the complex until he fully recovers was his niece, Yukitsuki Hisakawa, and there was no one else in their family that would come over and help due to their work and stuff, not even her parents since they were away by sea. So, until the manager comes back fully recovered, I had to make do with how I live in the apartment with what I have. Oh, and in case you didn't know, I am the only resident living in the apartment complex, and no one has been coming and living in the apartment rooms for years. Anyway, today is my first year of Homurahara Academy, since I transferred as a second-year 3 weeks ago, and I'm well prepared for this year to become the best of it.

"Wait, Shindou-kun!" a girl shouted, "Wait for me!"

"Huh?" I said, as I turned around, "Oh, Yukitsuki-san."

The girl who just ran to catch up to me is Yukitsuki Hisakawa-san, who is the current manager of the apartment complex, stopped to catch her breath from running. She has short and wavy bright red hair and green eyes, and stands about the same height as me, and he chest size is about average. Like me, she also wears a standard Homurahara Academy uniform, only that hers is the female uniform, with instead of the standard red ribbon, she wears a blue one instead, because she doesn't want to standout to be like everyone else in school, and wears black lace-less shoes and black socks that goes up her thighs.

"Jeez, Shindou-kun, you should've just waited for me!" she scolded, "I'm a student in your school, too, you know?"

"Sorry, I kinda forgot." I said.

"Jeez, I know you're still new here, but at least have some consideration about the people you live with that are helping you around in Fuyuki." said Yukitsuki-san.

"My bad, sorry." I said, apologetically.

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Oh, well. I'll forgive you. Anyway, we should go, we can't be late."

"Right." I said, "Let's go."

Then, out of rush, we hurriedly went off running to reach our school.

Oh, right. In case if I didn't mention it, Yukitsuki-san is also a student of Homurahara Academy and is in the same class as me. Since I live in the apartment that her uncle manages, and since she's managing it in his place, and since we were both in the same class, she and I quickly became friends. Not only that, but she was also the one who showed me around Fuyuki City, just to return a certain favor for me when I helped her out from a certain complaint and a certain incident, which was almost about 2 weeks ago. Thanks to her, I now have a full knowledge and understanding of Fuyuki City.

As soon as we made it through the school gates, we stopped to catch our breaths.

"Well, at least we made it in time." I said, breathlessly.

"Yeah, barely." said Yukitsuki-san, also breathlessly, "At least we got here early on time."

"Well, well, well." said a cool student who was passing by, "Aren't you two in a hurry."

"Huh?" I said, as I looked up, "O-Oh. Kurosawa-san."

"Yo, Yuzuru." said the cool student.

"Did you get here before us?" Yukitsuki asked, just as she caught her breath.

"Nah, I just got here." the student smiled, "I just happened to have seen you two."

"Really?" said Yukitsuki-san, somewhat irritated, "Jeez, you really…"

This cool male student who just came by to school is named Ryouya Kurosawa. Like Yukitsuki-san, Kurosawa-san is also my classmate and one of my friends I made since moving in to Fuyuki.

He's a pretty cool guy who is, well, pretty much cooler than me, having a cool light brown spikey hair hairstyle, dark blue eyes, a tall and strong body and all that stuff that any guys could dream of wanting to be, and I am sort of part of that. He wears a standard school uniform like we do, but unlike us, who put on our uniforms nice and neat, he wears his blazer open to reveal his red and green t-shirt, kinda like a lazy way to put on his uniform and like a delinquent of some kind. Unlike Yukitsuki-san, who is hard working as a manager and dedicated to her school life following the school rules, Kurosawa-san is somewhat of a slacker and a little less motivated with school and prefers to sleep around a lot rather than learning some stuff in class. Still, just like Yukitsuki-san, he was kinda nice enough to show me around Fuyuki City and helping me and her with some things by stepping up from time to time.

"C'mon, cut me some slack." Kurosawa-san laughed, "It's not like it's a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" said Yukitsuki-san, somewhat angry, "Really?! You know, you slack off most of the time! You could just take this seriously, you know?!"

"Hey, guys?" I said, "Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't we be going now?"

"What?" said Yukitsuki-san, gaining my attention.

"I mean, if we don't hurry, we gonna be late." I said, "And you probably don't want that."

Yukitsuki gasped and shouted, "Oh, no! We'll be late!"

Then, she quickly grabbed me and ran hurriedly to class while pulling me, leaving Kurosawa-san behind as he calmly walked to class while whistling.

"Whoa, wait!" I panicked from her running, "Slow down, I was just kidding! We still have some time left!"

"There is no time, we have to go!" Yukitsuki-san shouted, while running, "We have to go, or will be late!"

"Oh, man…" I thought to myself, "Maybe I shouldn't have said what I said."

Fortunately, we arrived into class way earlier than we thought we would. Unfortunately, Yukitsuki-san was already tiredly trying to catch her breath from running, while I was lying down on the ground from running along, trying to catch my breath.

"We…we…finally…made it…" Yukitsuki-san gasped heavily, with both her hands on her knees.

"Yeah…at least…" I wheezed out.

Then, a homeroom teacher, Emilia-sensei, arrived to see the two of us who were tired from running. Yukitsuki-san gasped and gasped again for air and then tiredly said, "G-G…Good morning…E…E…E-Emilia-sensei…"

"Oh, good morning, you two." Emilia-sensei smiled, "You're early to class. Are you two tired from running?"

"N…n…no…" Yukitsuki-san breathed heavily, and then she shouted, as she got up from her knees, "…Not at all, sensei! I'm…not tired…at all!"

"Eh…" Emilia-sensei said with a sweatdrop, "Do you…maybe need some water?"

"Nope, I'm good!" Yukitsuki-san shouted, then tiredly said as she walked slowly to her desk, "I-I'm gonna…I'm gonna go…to my desk now…"

"Uh…okay." Emilia-sensei sweatdropped again, "If you say so…although, class hasn't even started yet…"

I then slowly and tiredly got up and said tiredly and weakly, "Good morning…sensei."

"Ah, good morning, Shindou-kun." Emilia-sensei smiled, "Uhh…so, did Hisakawa-san dragged you into running? Do you perhaps need some water?"

I looked up at my teacher and weakly wheezed out, "Yes, please…"

* * *

The school bell had ranged, meaning that 1st class has ended, and that it was time for lunch.

"Alright, that's all for today." said Emilia-sensei, "Chikako Asada-san, may you please dismiss the class for lunch?"

"Yes." said a female student named Chikako Asada-san, "Everyone, stand."

Everyone did what she said. "And bow." she said, and everyone did the same. Then, as the teacher left first for lunch, everyone did the same.

"Hey, Shindou-kun." said Asada-san, gaining my attention, "Do you have time? I need your help with some things in the faculty office."

"Oh, sure." I said, as I got out of my seat, "Give me a second."

"Sure." she smiled, "Take your time."

This girl with straight black hair with a nice pink hairpin and reddish/pink eyes who is very nice and polite to everyone with a friendly smile, and who asked me for my help now is the class representative of my classroom named Chikako Asada-san. She is about slightly shorter than us and, unlike Yukitsuki-san, not to offend her, is flat chested. Like Yukitsuki-san, though, she's a hard worker, being the class representative and helping classmates and the school faculty with stuff that they needed help with. And like the other two, she's one of my friends I made since I got here to Fuyuki City, and she was also kind enough to show me around the school when I didn't know where my classroom was. Although she doesn't hang out with me, Yukitsuki-san, or Kurosawa-san in class very much often since she often goes to help the school faculty and other classmates with problems, she does, however, ask any one of or even all of us for a helping hand when she needs us, and while we, or at least each of us, help her out, we do tend to talk about some stuff very often.

"I'm glad you could help me out every often, Shindou-kun." Asada-san smiled, "I've really been having a lot of stuff to be handling with to help out everyone these past few days."

"Not at all, Asada-san." I smiled back, "I'm just glad I could give out a helping hand."

Me and Asada-san were both carrying heavy boxes from the faculty office filled with books and multiple equipment for each of the classrooms to use for laboratory classes, and walking to where the heavy items should go while they were talking.

After taking care of what was needed, we returned to class to meet up with the others to have lunch. I brought out a bag of melon bread from the grocery bag and opened it, while everyone else made and brought their own lunch boxes.

"Melon bread today?" Kurosawa-san asked, "That's pretty cheap."

"Well, it can't be helped." I said, "The apartment where I live is still pretty crappy, and I can't cook anything with some trashes in the way." Then, I took a bite of my bread.

"Really sorry, Shindou-kun." said Yukitsuki-san, "I really feel bad that I can't do anything because I'm too young to be a manager and I'm all worked up with class."

That made me stop eating and look at her saddened face.

"If my uncle was around, he'd be able to have some people do it right away." She continued, "And plus, you're the only resident in our apartment complex. No one's ever come over to live in our apartment for years. So, sorry."

I swallowed my bread and said, "No, don't worry about it. I mean, your uncle hasn't been feeling well lately, and it'll take him time to recover. So, don't worry. I'm fine."

"I-I see." said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, and then smiled, "Thank you."

"Man, you sure know how to make a girl smile." Kurosawa-san teased.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not like that." I said. Asada-san just stood and giggled at our interactions.

Then, a wild girl suddenly appeared from running from another class, ran over to our classroom and shouted, "HEY, YUZZUCHI!"

"Huh?" I said, as I looked over. I then recognized her and said, "Oh, Hiiragi. Hi. What's up?"

The girl named Hiiragi quickly approached to me and said excitedly, "Hey, Yuzzuchi, I got something to tell you and it's really important!"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, sure…okay."

This super hyped up and exciting girl with short orange curled up hair, bright orange eyes, and weird glasses who is a little bit…eccentric, is another friend of mine, but from another classroom, is my nearby classmate named Hiiragi Hamasaki. She's known around the school as a skilled computer hacker, an info breaker, a gadgets engineer, and an intelligence freak with a crazy exciting personality. She always often comes over to my classroom from her class whenever she has something good in store for me or everyone to see and hear, like some cool weird gadgets, some information that she found, some stuff that she fixed, pretty much all some crazy stuff we could imagine. Or, if she wanted, she needed people to help be her…well, let's say volunteer, to help her try out some of her weird or cool stuff like gadgets that she built in her science lab, although it's mostly me because no one else wanted to approach her due to her weird personality. Which I was okay with, since I was mostly able to get along with her quite well, and since I like to help people out. Plus, I was kinda interested in what she made or even what info's she had found.

"So, what is it, Hiiragi?" I asked, "Did you found something good?"

"OH, YEAH!" Hiiragi shouted, excitedly, "And it IS huge! Yuzzuchi, tell me! What is your favorite historical myth or fairy tale?!"

"Me?" I said, then I chuckled, "Well, isn't it obvious? The story about King Arthur, the Once and Future King of Great England, about a young man who pulled a magical sword from the stone and became a legendary king who led and fought to protect and save Great Britain. Why do you ask?"

"YES! THAT'S IT!" Hiiragi shouted, "THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING YOU'D SAY!"

"Really?" I said, confused, "Well, what about it?"

"Okay, so listen!" said Hiiragi, putting her hands on my shoulders, "This morning, I found some rumor that there was some strange sword, with a strange design, that was right in the middle of Fuyuki! And wouldn't you know it, I looked it up on my computer, and guess what – BAM! – You would not believe WHAT. I. HAD. JUST. FOUND. OUT!"

"Okay…" I said, "What did you find out about the strange sword? Was it weird looking? Did the design looked strange? Was it…broken?"

"Broken?!" she shouted, "Heh-heh. Hell, no!" Then, she quickly brought out her phone and quickly searched in it, saying, "Check. This. Out."

Hiiragi showed me her phone and I looked at what she had searched up. Then, I suddenly gasped, as I was surprised at what I just saw and what Hiiragi had just found. I was so surprised that I quickly took her phone and looked at it again to make sure. What I saw was exactly what Hiiragi just told me.

"Wha…" I said, surprised, as I got up from his chair, "Wha…no way! This is…is this what I think it is?!"

"Oh, hell yeah!" said Hiiragi, excitedly, "The one and only! The one, sword of the stone! Excalibur! Or…Caliburn? Either way, it's that!"

"Whoa!" I said, as I was in complete awe, "No way! In the middle of Japan?! No way, how is it there?! And where did you get this from?!"

"Hehehe." Hiiragi laughed, "I hacked the info and took it upon it for myself. And seeing how you LOVE the story of the legendary King Arthur, I thought I'd bring it upon myself to give that info for you. And, if you wanna know where it is, I know just the location of that legendary thing! When we find it, we're gonna take it, AND we're gonna make MONEY out of it! HORRAY!"

"Wow!" now, I was excited and Hiiragi was, "Hiiragi, you freakin' crazy genius of a bitch, I freakin' love you right now! Now I'm really interested in this! And I totally wanna go with you on this one! I wanna see that sword for myself!"

"Yeah, right?!" Hiiragi shouted, excitedly, "I knew you'd be, Yuzzuchi! Let's go get this sword out, snatch it, and then we take it in so that we can earn tons of FREAKIN' MONEY!"

"Yeah!" I shouted, excitedly.

"Wee!" Hiiragi cheered, excitedly.

"Um…hey, you two?" said Asada-san, getting our attention.

"Huh?" we both said, "Yeah?"

"I really hate to interrupt, but…I think you two should tone it down…" Asada-san nervously said with a sweatdrop.

"Why?" said Hiiragi, confused.

"Well," said Asada-san, "We're kinda in the middle of a classroom."

We looked around to see everyone was giving us some weird looks, like we were being crazy, obsessing over something. Well, that was really…awkward. How awkward? So awkward that everything was quiet and somewhat tense, so I slowly and awkwardly sat back down on my chair with a bewildered expression and looked blankly at nothing, while Hiiragi just stood there with an awkward smile and a nervous laugh. Everyone in our spot just either sighed from our complete idiocy or just giggled at us because of how funny and ridiculous we looked in front of everyone in the room. Anyway, we finished our lunch and we decided to discuss about it before our next class.

"So, Hiiragi, are you really sure it's that sword?" I asked her, just to be clear on it.

"Yup, I'm TOTALLY sure!" she said with confidence, then she excitedly and quickly said, "In fact, I even went to look for it before I even came to school. In fact, I found the sword and looked at it to see if it was real, WHICH in my eyes, is VERY real. In fact, I even touched it to see if it felt real, by touching the sharp blade of the thing to see if it hurts for real, WHICH it did, and I bled a little. IN FACT, I even LICKED IT, to see what it tasted like!"

"…what?" I blankly said. Everyone else were either disappointed in her actions or were completely grossed out about the last part.

"Oh, what the hell…?" Kurosawa-san spoke first, after finished being disgusted by Hiiragi's 'experience', "Did you really have to do that? Ugh, sick…gross."

"I agree." Asada-san sighed, "That was disgusting, what you did."

"Well, it's not surprising, since Hiiragi is always super, super weird." said Yukitsuki-san, with a deadpanned expression.

I chuckled a little and asked her, "So, Hiiragi, I'm not gonna ask what it tasted like…but you said that you found it, right? What did you do with it after? And where is it now?"

"Heh-heh." Hiiragi laughed a little, "I hid it somewhere where no one could find it. Somewhere where no greedy people would ever dare try to lay a hand on that GREAT sword of the legend you love. Somewhere where I know where it is, in case someone DARES to find it! I hid it, where ONLY yooooouuu, Yuzzuchi, would find it and see for it yourself! Somewhere! Only I kn-!"

"It at the river bank under the Fuyuki bridge." someone said behind Hiiragi.

It made Hiiragi quickly and completely surprised and shocked to see who was behind her and that someone was listening to our conversation, so much so that it made Hiiragi screamed, rather comically, to death. Hell, it even made her fell and fainted to the ground and made her looked as if she had died. After seeing that funny comedy relief, we looked up to see who it was, and to most of our surprise, it was our teacher for our next class.

"Oh!" I said, surprised, "Matou-sensei!"

"Good afternoon, Shindou-kun." the teacher, Matou-sensei, smiled at me and kindly greeted.

Sakura Matou-sensei, she is our next teacher for our next class after our homeroom teacher, Emilia-sensei. She is a slightly older, but still young woman with violet hair, which she styles with a pink ribbon on the left side, and violet eyes. Matou-sensei is about 5'2" tall, and physically, uh…ahem, appears to have a very large sized chest, something that Yukitsuki-san and Asada-san lacks and the very thing that they were jealous of. Like most of the teachers, she wears what looks like a business outfit, which consist of a white buttoned up shirt, with…oh, God…the top unbuttoned shirt, revealing small parts of her cleavages, which no one, but me sees it, and a dark purple blazer, which luckily for most of us, covers her chest to hide her large breasts completely (mostly), a blue ribbon on her neckwear, and a purple skirt that goes all the way to her knees, revealing her clear beautiful legs and wears high heel shoes.

Aside from being a teacher teaching for our next class, she is also the supervisor of the Archery Club, and a guidance counselor for students. For in her case, she is mainly my guidance counselor, basically someone who I go and talk to whenever I'm in distress about some things. I took one of her guidance counseling once, when I was stressed out about something, and when I talked to her, she was actually really nice to me, so much nicer; in fact, it felt as if she was like a caring mother to me. Hell, most students in school, mostly the guys, gave her the nickname of "The School's Mother", for always being like a caring mother to everyone in school, even when their angry or strict teachers cared less about them. Although, she can also be quite a teaser and tends to joke around, at least only to me, and no one knows about it. She mainly uses her body to tease me to look as if she was tempting me to touch her, and she would always laugh at my embarrassing reactions and my reactions from holding onto my urges and my hormones. Although it always gets embarrassing and tempting from time to time when I see my sensei, I had gotten pretty much use to it by now, and out of respect for her, I decided to keep what she does to me as a secret, because, trust me, I do not and WOULD not want to ruin her reputation as a teacher and have her become upset with me, or even worse. I do not know what happens when she gets upset or worse, and quite frankly, I do not want to know.

Anyway, Matou-sensei went up to us and smiled at us before saying, "I heard what the rest of you were talking about, and I couldn't help myself but just wanted to join in."

"Matou-sensei, should you really be here?" Kurosawa-san lazily asked, "Shouldn't you have other things to do before class starts?"

"Not at all." Matou-sensei smiled, "I was just about to come here to start class soon, anyways. Ah, that's right." She looked down at Hiiragi who still looked like she was dead, and said, "Hamasaki-san, you should return to your class soon, or you'll be late for your next lesson."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hiiragi shot up from her 'death' with her funny reminded expression on her face and said, "Ah, you're right! I almost forgot!" Then, she quickly and comically ran out of the classroom door while shouting, "I GOTTA GO!" But before we saw her gone, she poked her head out and said rather quickly, "Yuzzuchi, we'll talk more later! Gotta go, BYE!" Then she ran out the hall to return to class, and we all just stood there and listened to her running footsteps until it faded and she was gone.

After a few seconds, I spoke first by asking, "By the way, Matou-sensei, how did you know where she hid it?"

"Hm?" she looked at me.

"The sword, I mean." I said.

"Ah, that!" Matou-sensei remembered, then she giggled, "Let's just say it's a long story," and then gave a wink, "And a little secret."

I, however, did not believed my sensei as I gave her a deadpanned 'I don't believe you' look as I had guessed what she did. "I should've known…" I thought, "She must've followed Hiiragi on her way here…" Matou-sensei just stood there and giggled at my deadpanned face and my reaction.

Everyone else with me were just rather confused about the exchanges we were making, before our next lesson started.

* * *

After our class was done all the way around close to the evening, our homeroom teacher dismissed us to go home. I was packing up my bag and was ready to leave, before someone at the door called to me.

"Shindou-kun." someone called to me.

I looked out to see that it was Matou-sensei, who was smiling and waving at me by the door. I guess maybe she must have needed me to help her out with something. Either that, or maybe she wants to tease me again. Probably both. Well, I guess I would have accepted either way. I finished up packing my bag and said to Yukitsuki-san that I would catch up to her to go home later. I went out of the classroom to see Matou-sensei as she was standing there patiently waiting for me with a smile on her face.

"Is there something you need, Matou-sensei?" I asked, before I changed my expression to something to keep myself from being embarrassed by her or being caught by her teasing, or whatever urges she tempted me to do, "Or…are you here to tease me again?"

Matou-sensei just giggled and said, "Oh, goodness me, no! Why would I ever tease my own favorite student, especially when we're in school?" She leaned her head towards me, while revealing her chest, slowly and little by little, showing every bits of her cleavages under her top unbuttoned up shirt, despite the covers, and said seductively to me, "Or _maybe_ ~ You _want_ me to keep doing this every day to you~ Hmm~? _Well_ ~ _Shin-dou-kun_ ~?"

"U-Uh…um…uh…uh…I, uh…" I nervously said, while I was trying to look away from her face and her large chest that was showing her cleavages, which were right in front of me. I had no idea what I should do or what to say, I was so nervous about this situation right in front of me that I felt like I could die from nervousness, embarrassment, and/or from resisting my sexual urges. And, I was so nervous that I was even making a face as if trying to control myself, while keeping my eyes shut.

But then, when I opened my eyes, I saw Matou-sensei stopped leaning herself towards me and just started laughing at my ridiculous face and funny reaction. "Oh, God…" I thought, as I sighed, "I should've known…"

"Sorry, sorry!" said Matou-sensei, while still laughing, "But, it's just…your face is so cute and so funny when you react like that, Shindou-kun!"

"Sensei…do you really have to do this to me and tease me every day when we're alone?" I asked, and giving my teacher a tired look, "I mean, really, what if somebody sees us doing this acting this way and gets the wrong idea?"

Matou-sensei stopped laughing while wiping away tears from laughing and said, "Sorry, I just can't help it. You're really fun to play with, sometimes. Out of all of my students, I consider you my favorite when it comes to teaching you and teasing you. And besides, I already know that students and teachers can't be in a relationship with each other, so even if we wanted to, you and I can't go out on dates. Otherwise, it would ruin my reputation and career as a teacher and it would affect you and your life as a student here. I wouldn't want that to happen to you, or I wouldn't forgive myself. Also, even if someone did find out about us, I would give them plenty of reasons to not tell anyone about our relationship as student and teacher."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, if you know that, then why do you still keep on teasing me like that?"

"Hmmm…I wonder…" she said, playfully placing her index finger on her lips, as if she was thinking to herself. Then, she turned to smile at me and said happily, "It's because it's fun, of course!"

I sighed at her response to my question. I figured that was her answer. I am literally like a freaking play thing to my sensei.

"And also…" Matou-sensei added, getting my attention, "It's because you remind me of someone I once loved back in my youthful days."

"Someone you once loved?" I asked.

"Yes." She smiled, as she motioned for me to follow her, and as I did, she happily said, "That person was very important to me back then, when I was around your age. Just like you, he was very kind, caring, and was always there willing to help other people around him. He would even help those who were very close and dear to him, even when no one needed it. As for me, I was one of the people who was close to him, and I was always happy for him for always caring for me. In fact, because of his kindness, I was even falling in love with him." But then, she stopped and gave out a sigh of disappointment and sadness, then continued, "Unfortunately, and although I loved him very much, in his eyes, he only saw me as a family, and nothing else, and he already fell for someone else instead of me. After that, and as years go by, he left with her and…he was already gone from my reach. And…I never saw him again. I was…too late…to ever even tell him how I felt about him."

"Oh…" I said, surprised, "I'm sorry to hear…and, um…sorry that I remind you of him…"

Matou-sensei shook her head and then turned to look at me and smiled, as she then said, "No. Don't be, Shindou-kun. In fact, it makes me happy that you do. And it makes me happy that you, reminding me of him, brings me back old memories from back then when I was young. And see you every day with your friends, watching you always talking with them and always having fun together, it brings me joy to see you with them and bringing me back to the good old days."

"Matou-sensei…" I said, quietly.

"So, don't worry." she smiled reassuringly, "With you always here every day, being with the people you love…me always watching you is more than enough for me. So that's why, I don't have any other regrets."

After seeing that smile on my sensei's face, I nodded in understanding and said, "Okay, if you say so, sensei."

Matou-sensei nodded back and said, "Good. That's what I like to hear. Anyway, do you mind coming with me for a moment?"

"Sure." I said, "What do you need me for?"

"Well," she said, as she motioned for me to follow her again, which I did, "The archery club is in need of an extra hand to help out clean up the dojo and to put away all of the equipment. After a long day of practice, there were most of the members who needed to take a day off from practice from last week, so there are only a several handful of the archery club members, including the club's captain and vice-captain, that needs help cleaning out the club."

"What happened to most of the members last week?" I asked, as I moved up in front to open the door to the courtyard for her, "Did they had some sort of tournament coming up planning or something?"

"Not exactly." said Matou-sensei, "It's just the captain of the archery club has been becoming really strict with their practice lately that everyone became tired and sore from all the work that the captain gave them. I advised her not to be too strict, but she still insist on doing so because it would help them get better at archery. And she insisted that it would help them get serious at it for once, since everyone either hasn't been doing so well with it or they're all just lazing around, according to her, that is."

"Sheesh, that sounds rough." I said, as I could imagine that happening.

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, "But, when I went to see how the club members were doing in the middle of that last week, I saw that everyone was just doing fine working hard in the club and that there were no problems in what they were doing, and no one has been making any mistakes or even slacking off during practice. When I asked them how they were doing and what was going on with their captain, they all said that they were doing fine and that she was being a…well, I think you know what that word is."

"Uh…yeah." I said, "I think I can picture some of them saying that to her, directly or not. Though, I think the captain's just working and thinking too much and too hard, that I think she's just overreacting over everything that she thinks is wrong in the archery club."

"Yes, I think so, too." said Matou-sensei, with a worried look on her face, "I think she's too dedicated to the archery club that it's been getting all over her head lately thinking that everyone should take the archery club seriously. At this point, if this keeps up, I'm worried that it'll cause every members of the archery club to leave one by one until it will eventually lead to the disbandment of the archery club. As its supervisor, I can't allow that to happen."

"So, you're just going to consult with her by being all "motherly" while I do all the dirty work of cleaning things up, clearing all the mess she made." I jokingly said, "What, am I a pet janitor or something?"

Matou-sensei laughed at my joke and said, "Oh, dear. You always know how to lighten up the mood, Shindou-kun. Even when thing are in very tough situation." Then, she answered, "Well, while I do appreciate you doing everything I ask you to help me on, you're not exactly a "pet", more like "an assistant" to me."

"Well, at least that's good to hear on my part." I said, and she nodded at my response.

Then, she said, "Besides, you're your own person, Shindou-kun, no one is allowed to command and tell you what to do, nor is anyone allowed to control your life and how they should do with it. You do what you believe is the right choice, and you do so by your own free will."

"Right." I said, "Thanks."

We stopped to see a building that was right in front of us. It was a dojo for the archery club. The exterior of the building is like any traditional Japanese dojos, though I probably shouldn't try to get into further details on how it looks. Anyway, before we went in, we looked inside and saw that there were still club members inside talking, though it more like they were arguing with the captain than talking with her.

Matou-sensei sighed and muttered, "They're at it again."

"Was it always like this?" I asked.

"Not always, just kept happening recently since last week when I checked on them." she said, "Although, it seems like it's getting much worse and worse."

"Yeah…" I slowly said. I looked through the window and saw that there were handful of club members that were either consulting or still arguing with the captain, some asking her to take it easy on herself and the members of the club, others were calling her a bitch. The captain, on the other hand, was either not listening to any of them or doesn't seem to care what they think as she was continuously and angrily yelling at every one of them to take the club seriously and not to laze around. Hell, she was even beating one of them in the head for talking back to her. Yeah, I've seen a lot of strictness out of every teachers or student body leaders, but this…this was not normal, and it was not healthy for her to be angry all the time.

After seeing enough of the scene, I looked at Matou-sensei as she looked back at me and said to her, "We should probably stop this before it gets ugly. We don't anyone to cause a blood bath here."

"Agreed." she nodded, "Ah, but, let me handle her with the talking. I know her well enough and I can try to convince her to stop arguing and being strict with them, just enough for her to calm down. You just go on and help out all the members with the cleaning."

"Are you sure?" I asked, "I mean, I don't mind leaving it to you, but…maybe I could lend a hand, just in case?"

Sensei, however, shook her head no and smiled sweetly, saying kindly, "Don't worry about me. I can handle her. You just focus on helping the members with cleaning."

I thought to myself for a minute. Well, I guess she could. She is called "the School's Mother" after all. I nodded in understand and said to her, "Okay, if you say so."

"Good." She smiled, "Now then, let's-"

Suddenly, we heard some screaming in the dojo, as if something scary had just came in out of nowhere. Then, we heard some breakings, crashing, and lots of beatings that was going on inside. That immediately caught our attention as we heard someone yelled, "SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH!" And then we suddenly heard some loud breaking, as if someone's arms and bones have been crushed, and a girl screamed out in pain, so loud that it would have hurt our ears.

This caused us to suddenly become concerned about what just happened. I looked at Matou-sensei with a concerned look as she looked at me with a serious expression. She turned to me said in a serious tone, "Shindou-kun, you wait and stay here! I'll handle this. If something goes wrong, find someone nearby and call for help; students, teachers, anyone you can find. I'll see what's going on."

"Wait, sensei!" I said, trying to stop her, "I don't know if-"

"Shindou-kun!" she said, sternly, "I'm YOUR teacher! Let ME handle this! You do whatever I say you should do! Understand?!"

"Well, yeah…but…" I hesitantly said, "But, I think-"

"This is NOT your opinion right now!" she said, sternly again, "DO you understand?! 'Yes' or 'No'?!"

Damn, she was being serious. I know that look very well. Hell, anyone knows that look well. That stern and serious expression that Matou-sensei gives when she becomes serious. It's like she has become a completely different person, instead of being the kind and caring teacher that everyone knows and loves. I knew that when she becomes this serious, I can't disobey her.

"Y-Yes!" I immediately said, as if trying to be clear.

Matou-sensei nodded and said, "Good. Wait here! Don't come in unless you've brought help."

"I will." I said.

Matou-sensei nodded again and went inside the dojo to see what was going on. Once she was inside, I turned around to see if there was anyone around, just in case. Unfortunately, while I was looking around, I saw that there was no one here, no students, teachers, nor anyone that could come and help us. It was as if everyone had already left to go home or go somewhere. Oh, great! This was just my luck!

"Hello?!" I called out, to make sure, "Anyone?! Is anyone around here?! There are people in the club that needs help here! Hello?! Help us!" But there was no response from anyone around the school. It was as if no one in school really cared about the only people around here.

"God dammit…" I muttered to myself, "What do I do now?" I sighed and muttered to myself again, "I could just go look around for someone, but then…I would just leave sensei and everyone else here…what's more, is whatever's going on in there, it can't be good, and I don't think…I really have a bad feeling about this." I looked at the door to the archery club and thought to myself, "Sensei is really gonna be pissed if I go in there without any help…" I looked down in defeat and sighed again.

Suddenly, I heard a scream again. But this time, it was not the other students who were screaming. This time, it was different. I knew it well, and it was Matou-sensei who screamed. After hearing that, I knew that something was wrong and that sensei was in danger. I looked around again to search for help, but still, there was no one around passing by for me to call for help. I grew frustrated and tired of search for people, so much that I gripped my hands to a fist so much out of anger. Ah, God dammit! Screw this! Screw all this waiting! I can't take another second of any of this anymore! Having enough of this, I turned around and hurriedly ran inside into the dojo to help.

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 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	3. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 2

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

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 **Chapter 0: Prologue Part 2**

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Sakura's POV:

Before…

After I told Shindou-kun to stay outside and wait until he knows he needs to call someone for help, I went inside to see what was going on. Before I would go in, I hid behind the walls and peeked at what was going on inside the archery club, poking only half of my head out to see with my own eyes. I was ready for what was to come, only for me stop and gasped and my eyes wide opened in utter horror. What I had just witnessed…was horrifying.

The team captain of the archery club, Tsukino, was lying on her knees crying in horror and in pain, while looking at her arms that were now completely broken and all covered in blood. The forearms looked as if they were stomped by large feet; her left elbow was broken and bent to a different side instead of being bent in a normal way, causing blood to drip out of the broken elbow; both of her wrists also looked as if they were crushed by feet, blood dripping out of her palms; both fingers were in the worst shapes, either they were broken and twisted or they were torn off of her hands; what was worse, was that it was so painful for her, she kept on screaming and crying non-stop from the pain, for she was in great agony.

Then, I looked to someone who did these awful things to her. Suddenly, I was shocked, my eyes widened in horror, to see who it was. To my shock, it was not one of the members of the archery club, rather it was Shichirou Hashimoto, the troublesome bully of the Homurahara Academy. He was a very muscular young man, about 6'0'' tall, with messy curly blonde hair, reddish-amber eyes, and tanned skin. Unlike the other students at school, he does not fully dress up in a full-fledge Homurahara school uniform. Instead, he is dressed in a black shirt with the skeleton head and the word "DEATH" on the center of it, with the school blazer daunted as a cape around his shoulders, dark blue ripped jeans that has chains hanging around each pocket, black bracelets worn in each of his wrists, and black boots.

Shichirou Hashimoto is the worst student around the campus and has been beating and bullying every student in the school, both boys and girls alike; doing so out of his own amusement, wanting to see everyone suffer. He even beats up teachers and staffs alike, beating them until they broke. What was even worse, was that everyone in the entire school was, and still is, afraid of him, afraid of being in his way and trying to stop him, they fear him for being the schools bully who likes to see everyone hurt and making them weak to him. Not even the school principal was able to do anything, because he was once beaten by him as well, and was afraid to be beaten by him again if he dared try to call for help. Hashimoto is the worst, using his power and strength to do whatever he wants, just for his amusement, and no one was willing to do anything to stop him. As seen by the members of the archery club, just standing there watching, as Hashimoto stood there with an amused look as he watched Tsukino sitting there crying in pain; Most of them were too afraid to even approach him to stop it, while there were few that just didn't seem to care and they just stood there while amusingly snickered at what was happening to Tsukino, as if they knew she deserved what happened.

"That's what you get, you stupid bitch!" said Hashimoto, as he kicked her in the chest, forcing her to lay on the ground crying. There were so much blood coming out of her arms and it looked very painful for her to move it. She was helpless and couldn't do anything.

"Help!" she cried, "Someone! Anyone! Please, help me! It hurts! It hurts so much! Please!"

But as she cried, no one dared try to move, either they were too afraid or they just didn't care.

"What are you waiting for?!" she cried, "Just help me, you- AHHH!"

Hashimoto stomped on one of her arms and started moving while crushing it, despite it already broken. And then he shouted angrily, "Yeah?! Go ahead, you pussies! I dare ya! C'mon! Come at me! Hah?! You guys wants some, too?!"

Everyone responded by backing away, afraid to even come over to help.

He smirked and said, "Yeah. That's what I thought. Pussies." Then, he stomped on her again, making her scream in agony again, as tears were flowing down her face. Tsukino tried to move, but to no vail.

That Hashimoto! He's not even part of the archery club, and he still acts like he owns the place to himself! Making everyone suffer from his beating and bullying, just for the fun of it! It was too much to watch. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take watching all of this going on! I rushed in and shouted, "STOP!"

Everyone stopped to look at me with a surprised look on their faces, except for Hashimoto, who then let of Tsukino to be left on the ground crying.

I looked at Hashimoto angrily and commanded, "Hashimoto, get out! Now! You're not even in this club! This isn't a place for you to be messing around and hurting people!" Then, I looked to the other members, and yelled to them, "And what are YOU PEOPLE waiting for?! Quit standing around and HELP HER!"

They all hesitated for a second before I shouted, "NOW!" Immediately, they hurriedly went to Tsukino and tried helped her up, planning to carry her somewhere safe, away from Hashimoto. But suddenly, Hashimoto turned and kicked one of the members away without any effort, punched the other with his strong fist, and then kicked the last one close to Tsukino, breaking his leg in the process.

Now, everyone in the club was afraid to approach him or get in the way.

"Hey!" I angrily said, "Hashimoto, what did I say?! I said for you to-"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled at me, as he angrily approached me, "Don't you dare tell me what the fuck to do, bitch! I'm in charge here, and nobody tells me what the fuck to do!"

"How dare you?!" I shouted, "I'm your teacher, and an adult! You do not insult your teacher when in- AHH!"

I was suddenly cut off by him slapping me in the face, throwing me across the wall, breaking the archery equipments. I was hurt so bad, that I had to cough from the impact and trying to hold my conscious. Still coughing, as I opened my eyes, with my right eye half-opened, Hashimoto was already walking towards me while everyone from afar behind him just stood there, terrified to do anything. They were cowards, they couldn't do anything to stop this. Then, I felt a kick to my stomach, and I screamed out in pain.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU BITCH!" Hashimoto angrily yelled, as he then repeatedly kept kicking me in the stomach, sending me more pain as I screamed out from the pain, as he continuously yelled and kicked, "SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Then, with a final and hard kick, he yelled angrily, so loud that it brought shivers to everyone's spines, "SHUT! THE FUCKING! HELL! UUUUUUPPP!" He kicked me once again in the stomach, but this kick was much harder this time, so hard and so painful that I screamed very loudly in pain, so loud that it felt like it could be heard everywhere.

I coughed in pain from all the kicks that he delivered to me by Hashimoto. It was so very…very painful that it was even worse than what I been through, what I had to endure in my younger years. I could barely move, and barely get up on the floors, trying to get back up. But then, suddenly, I was grabbed by my hair by him as he forcefully pulled my hair and bringing me up to my knees. I painfully looked up at him as he gave me his angry look at my eyes. He 'tsk'ed and then slapped me hard in the face, twice in both my cheeks, and then threw me again. I lied there on the ground, barely able to move and barely conscious of my surroundings.

"Who do you think you are, huh?!" he shouted, "Telling me what the hell to do, and acting like you're the boss of me?! HUH?! WELL, FUCK YOU! I do whatever the hell I want, because I feel like it! You got that?! No one tells me what to do! And people like you are all the same! WEAK!"

He then laughed out of mockery and enjoyment, doing what he likes. I just laid there as he continued his laugh. I looked up to the members of the archery club, and they just stood there, too afraid to do anything or fight back. It was hopeless. I looked up and saw that Hashimoto was about to kick me again, and I had to shut my eyes tight from what was about to happen. But then, I heard someone shouted, "STOP!" That voice…I know that voice! While still weak, I managed to get my head up and turned around to see who said that. And, to my shocked, as I gasped with my eyes wide opened, a familiar figure appeared at the hallway from the door, and I said, shocked to see him here, "Shindou-kun…?"

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Yuzuru's POV:

Now…

I saw Matou-sensei, lying on the ground completely hurt, so I hurriedly rushed over to her and helped her up, getting her in a sitting position so she could rest. I checked on Matou-sensei for any signs of injuries, and sure enough, there were some cuts and multiple bruises, the slap bruises on her cheeks, cuts on her back, likely because she was thrown or so, and kick bruises on her stomach.

"Sensei, are you okay?!" I asked, as I was worried about her condition, "Please, tell me you're okay!"

Sensei looked at me with one eye half opened. She was really hurt, but she managed to smile, even though it was a weak smile, saying kindly to me, "No, don't worry. I'm fine. Thank you, Shindou-kun." But, I could tell she was not okay. She was hurt very badly and was likely trying to endure whatever pain that she was going through moments ago before I came in. And looking at her eyes, I could tell that she was about to cry from what she had to endure.

"Sensei…" I said, quietly, as I then gently hugged my sensei to comfort her. While I did so, I felt some wetness slowly dripping on my right shoulder, and I knew what it was as I heard her softly crying with her face onto my shoulder. I looked around to see that everyone just stood there watching, and being careful of getting too close, as they were trying to stay away and being clear from the worst bully in school, Shichirou Hashimoto.

I knew him before once. Remember what I said about a certain complaint that happened with Yukitsuki-san? Well, he was once one of the residence that used to live in our apartment before I moved in. He was the one who complained to Yukitsuki-san about the apartment being all crappy and was not happy about how it was and not being cleaned up. Yukitsuki-san tried to reason with him that it would take time because she was the only one that was managing the apartment and that no one else was employed to work for the apartment, at least not in years since her uncle got sick. However, unlike me, Shichirou was not a very patient guy and he threatened Yukitsuki-san that he would beat her up and break her, if she doesn't do something to make the apartment better; thus, her situation worsened and everything could have gone to hell, if I hadn't intervened in time. How? Well, let's just say that it all started with the certain words "Hey, you! Why don't you/How about you take on someone your own size?!" Yup, I went in and got into a fight with him…and it ended up with me losing and getting beat up to a pulp by him. Not a very smart move for a guy who just moved here to Fuyuki, I know, but what else was I supposed to do in a situation like that? I couldn't just leave Yukitsuki-san taking all the blame and suddenly have her get beaten up, she was a girl. And yes, I know, that is the stupidest reason for me to help someone in need, and very cliché. Anyway, after I was beaten up by him, and before he could finish me off with a last punch, that was the day when I met Kurosawa-san, who was passing by one time and stopped Shichirou from doing whatever he was doing. He did so by fighting back, only that he was a better fighter than I am and that he took down Shichirou without a sweat. After that, Shichirou left the apartment and never came back again. Of course, I was treated from the fight and struggles, and that how I helped Yukitsuki-san from a certain complaint, and we became friends since, and Shichirou was one of my worst enemies; although, I'm pretty sure he was everyone's worst enemy.

Anyway, back to where I was. I looked up to see Shichirou looking at us with an angry look, and I knew he was not happy to see me, considering what happened two weeks ago. I then looked the other way to see that the members of the archery club were just standing there watching us while trying to be careful not to get too close to Shichirou. I guess it shouldn't be surprising since everyone is afraid of him. I then looked to see the captain of the archery club, and by God, I was both horrified and disgusted.

The captain of the archery club was lying on the ground crying in complete horrid of pain, but that wasn't what surprised and disgusted me; what I saw was both her arms and hands were all crushed and broken, lots of blood bleeding out through severe wounds and broken bones, and with most fingers twisted and bent in wrong ways. I could imagine what had happened when Shichirou came busting in. Dear God, it must've been painful for her to go through.

I then looked back at Shichirou as he was still looking at me, probably waiting for me to pay attention to him. I let go of sensei and turned to face him while I raised both my left arm to the side to guard her just in case. I gave him a look of seriousness and anger, but I didn't show any signs of anger to him yet.

Shichirou smirked at me and said, "Well, well, well. You've got balls coming in here, Shindou-boy, I'll give ya that." He continued as he cracked his knuckles, "Too bad I'm gonna have to rip that off of you along with your guts."

"First, you threatened Yukitsuki-san during the apartment incident…" I sneered, "Then you busted in here and broke the captain of the archery club's arms...and now you're doing this, hurting people that are part of a club you're not even in…you have some nerves, you know that?! You even beat up sensei for your own amusement! You're sick!"

He scoffed at me and said, "What's it matter to you, huh, you wannabe superhero?" He then pointed at the captain and continued, "This little bitch here deserves what I gave her anyway. She was the one who was being all bitchy about having people to work harder and shit like that, so I gave her what was coming for her. Bitch brought it upon herself."

"Damn you…!" I growled.

"And what're you gonna do about it, huh?" he taunted, "What are you gonna do?!"

While he continued taunting me, I looked around with my eyes to see what I could do. Then, I noticed something on the ground. A long wooden sword, a thin sword that was longer than half of my height. It was laying a little close from the captain of the archery club, and I knew it was the same wooden sword that she was using when being strict with the others. I guess I could use that as a weapon. Granted, I wasn't really the best fighter of all out of everyone in school. I can't even fight anyone in hand-to-hand, much less using a weapon in a fight, and let alone beating anyone down and win. I honestly was a terrible fighter. And in this case, I know I can't win against the school bully, Shichirou. But…even so, that doesn't mean I can't at least try to. If I can't beat someone who's stronger than I am, then how the hell am I supposed to keep my promise to my childhood?

I looked up to see him still laughing and taunting at me before he turned around to laugh at and taunt everyone else in the club for being weak, saying to everyone that he was better than everyone, and he was ready to beat up everyone one by one until all of their bones were broken. I decided to use this opportunity and quickly ran to grab the sword.

"Shindou-kun, wait!" sensei cried out to me, but I didn't stop to listen.

I quickly, and luckily, grabbed the sword and hurriedly moved to be right in front of Shichirou to guard the other club members while standing in a basic kendo style.

"Stay away from them…!" I warned.

Shichirou looked surprised before he laughed out loud at me and said, "Seriously?! Are you stupid?! You're seriously gonna fight me with that puny little stick?! C'mon, don't be stupid, Shindou-boy! Even you should know it's pointless to fight against me! You can't win!"

"Maybe not." I said, "But I'm still going to try to, anyway. Besides, I'm not standing up to you for myself! I'm standing up to you for everyone!"

Everyone in the archery club looked at me and were stunned when I said that. Even Matou-sensei was surprised. Then, I shouted and I charged at him, "Because if I don't…then WHO WILL?!"

I continued running towards him and prepared to swing the sword in my hand to strike, only for Shichirou to casually move aside and tripped me over. I landed face first on the ground when he did, and he laughed at me. I lifted myself up and turned around to see him still laughing.

"C'mon, Shindou-boy!" he taunted, "Is that all you got?!"

I growled as I got myself back up from the floor and when back to my stance, before I charged at him again, and I swung the sword at him to his left side. But he moved back and dodged the attack and went up and hit me in the stomach with his knees. I was hurt so bad that I coughed from the pain, before he punched me to the face, and I was thrown to the wall.

"Shindou-kun!" I heard sensei cried.

I was laid back against the wall while I was on the floor, before I coughed and I slowly got back up, using the sword to help me with the balance, and went back to my stance. There was still pain going on in my body, but I ignored it. I looked up to see Shichirou smirking and made a gesture for me to come at him. I growled and charged at him to attack. I jumped up to him and moved my arms up above with the sword above me to prepare a strike. Then, I swung the sword down for an upper strike, but again, I was unlucky. He brought his arm up and casually caught the sword and grabbed hold of it, much to my surprise. I was back standing on the floor as I struggled to move around with the sword, trying to either push it to try to hit him or pull it to have him let go of it, all to no vail. Then, out of nowhere, he kicked me in the stomach and I was forced to let go of the sword and the force of the kick pushed me back. I landed back against the wall and pain surged through my body. God, it hurts!

I struggled to get up as I was leaning my back against the wall and I looked up to see Shichirou threw the wooden sword away and came right at me. Before I could do anything, he punched me in the gut, then he punched me in the face, then he punched me again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again; he kept on continuously punching me everywhere, never stopping as I was bleeding from all the beating he was giving me. He kept on going, and going, and going at it with all the punches until he punched me to the side and I was knocked to the floor. I laid there as I struggled to move. I was bleeding everywhere in my face, from my forehead to my mouth. Then, I looked up to see the wooden sword there in front of me.

"C'mon, Shindou-boy, get up!" he shouted, "You want some more?! Huh?! You want some more?!"

I slowly and painfully crawled up and reached to the sword and I grabbed it. Using the sword to help me with my balance, I slowly got back up and looked up at him, with a look of determination in my eyes, despite the pain and blood going around my body. I slowly went back to my fighting stance, never dropping my determined look and readied myself.

He saw this and sighed, and then said, "Really, you just don't know when to quit, do ya, Shindou-boy?"

I just continued standing there and looked at him, getting ready to fight. I heard whispers from the others while I stood there.

"Is he crazy?" I heard them whispered, "Is he seriously still gonna fight?!" "He looks like he's in bad shape." "I don't think he can win." "Should we help him?" "Maybe we should call for help!" "We gotta do something!" "He can't keep up like this."

"It's okay." I said, getting everyone's attention, "Like I said, I'm doing this for you guys, not myself."

Everyone looked surprised went I said that, before looking at each other with concern looks on their faces. I looked back at Shichirou who was waiting for me to make a move. I readied myself and charged at him again, despite the pain I was going through. As I got close to him, I swung the sword to his right to strike again. But, as my strike got closer, he grabbed the sword again with his left hand, and then he pulled it along with me to his other side. Then, he swiftly used his right hand to punch the wooden sword, and with great amount of force, he broke the sword in half, shocking me and everyone else, before Shichirou let go of the top broken half of the sword and punched me in the face again, sending me flying back to the others, forcing me to let go of the now broken sword, and I landed on the floor to my left side. As I laid there, I coughed out blood from the punch that he gave me.

I then slowly turned to look up at Shichirou and saw that he was walking towards me. When he got close to me, he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and lifted me up with his right hand. I was already weak from all the beating, so I was hanging limply, but I was still breathing, just didn't have any strength left in me now. I slowly and weakly looked at him and, for a moment, he was looking at me straight in the eyes, before he let out a smirk.

"So, you wannabe superhero," he began, as he gripped on my collar shirt harder, "How does it feel…to try to fight back, only to lose to someone stronger than you? How's it feel to be the one on the losing side? Huh?"

Seriously? What kind of question was that? Though, then again, he does have a point. Even though I used up all whatever strength that I had, doing the best I could to fight back, I had already lost a sword, lost use of almost all my body, and I'm bleeding a lot like shit. I'm basically broken, I can barely make a move, let alone fight back against him. To be honest, I knew I wasn't gonna win, but…I let my own feelings get the better of me. I knew, but I just…I honestly just wanted to stand up to him for everyone who just couldn't, because they were too afraid. I had to be brave for them.

I weakly chuckled at Shichirou's question and answered to him weakly, "Hey…let's answer that question…with another question…"

"Oh, yeah?" said Shichirou, "And what's that, huh?"

"Tell me…" I said, weakly, as I slowly reached my left hand and grabbed his right hand that was holding me up, "How does it feel…Shichirou? How does it feel…to be going out picking on people who're weaker than you…? How does it feel…to be hurting lots of people who can't fight back and stand up to you…? How does it feel…to break someone's bones…until they can't even move their own bodies…? How does it feel…to break someone until they bleed…? How does it feel…to be known as the school's…worst bully…?"

He was dead silent for a moment after hearing what I had just asked him. Then he began laughing out loud, so loud that it was loud enough to be close to a maniac laughter. Everyone looked at him with horrified looks on their faces as if they saw a demon was born inside him. Even Matou-sensei was shocked to see such display that was happening in front of her.

Then, after finishing his laughter, he looked at me with a sadistic grin and shouted at my face loudly for me and everyone to hear, "MUCH BETTER THAN BEING A COMPLETE FUCKED-UP LOSER WHO DOES NOTHING BUT STAND AROUND AND EJACULATE TO A BUNCH OF BITCHES A HUNDRED TIMES ALL DAY! BETTER THAN BEING A COMEPLETE NOBODY WHO'D RATHER BE A PUSSY THAN TO GO WILD WITH PEOPLE! BETTER THAN A REAL DUMBASS STUDENT WHO'D BE A TEACHER'S PET AND OBEYS ALL DAY! AND FUCKING MUCH BETTER THAN YOU!" Then, he threw me to the side to the ground while shouting, "YOU SHOULD TRY IT SOMETIMES, SHINDOU-BOY!"

I landed on my right side and laid motionlessly on the floor, struggling to move a muscle, and lots of blood was dripping out from the wounds I got from him. I was hurt real bad and I felt like pain was going to overwhelm me. I slowly, and weakly moved my head to look above me and, while I was looking while lying on a different side, I saw that I was close to where Matou-sensei is lying next to me as she tried to slowly move to get closer to me. She was still weak, so it was hard for her to struggle to move, let alone get up on her feet. When she got close enough, she slowly reached out to grab my unmoving hand, reaching closer and closer until she grabbed it and slowly began to pull me towards her, leaving some trails of blood on the floor. By the time she pulled me close to her, Matou-sensei was hugging me and holding onto me tightly as she could, placing my face close to her chest, but I was beaten up pretty bad that I couldn't move, I hardly even notice it or I probably didn't care right now, while she began rubbing the back of my head, whispering quietly to me for me to hear, "It's okay…that's enough now, Shindou-kun…you've done enough…that's enough…that's enough…"

"Matou-sensei, I…I really am pathetic, aren't I?" I thought, "I…I'm really sorry."

As if she was reading my mind, she quietly whispered to me, "No, don't think that way. You weren't pathetic. You were very brave in protecting everyone. And…I'm very happy…that you did. Thank you, Shindou-dun…"

Matou-sensei…dammit, it hurts…that I couldn't even do much to stop him, let alone beat him in a fight, and in the end, I ended up losing because I didn't stand a chance to someone stronger than me. But…at the same time, I guess I was glad that I was at least able to do something for the club, even if it was just a little. Honestly, it's not that I wanted to be a hero or anything, I just…wanted to help people as best I can, because there was no one else who would do that, for them, for Matou-sensei, and for everyone; even if they had wanted to, they couldn't. I…had to at least try. Besides, I…I made a promise…to someone very important to me. I made a promise that…I would be…well, it was something that I made to her, and I can't break that promise.

When I turned my eyes and glanced up, I saw Shichirou was already in front of us, looking down on us, cracking his knuckles as if getting ready to beat us again. I felt Matou-sensei was now holding onto me much tighter as if she is trying to protect me for dear life. I was still weak from the beating, so I wasn't able to move my body yet. Still, even in my weaken state, I was ready for what he was about to do next. I glanced around and see that everyone else was still standing there, still afraid to intervene what was going on in front of them, and the captain of the archery club still lying there as well, and her arms were still bleeding from being crushed.

I glanced back at Shichirou, and he was smirking at us, readying to finish me off. Then I felt Matou-sensei's hold on me growing tighter, shielding me as best she could to protect me from him and said angrily to Shichirou, "That's enough, Hashimoto! He's had enough already! Leave him alone!"

He laughed at Matou-sensei as if he sees her being pathetic and said to her mockingly, "What, is a teacher trying to protect her little pet now?! How fucking adorable! I guess Shindou-boy really is a teacher's pet!"

"How dare you?!" she shouted at him, angrily, "He's not my pet! He's my student! And as his teacher, I will NOT allow you to further insult- AHH!"

Shichirou suddenly grabbed Matou-sensei by the hair, forcing her to let go of me as she was being pulled up by the hair, and he yelled "SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH!" before he slapped her hard with the back of his other hand across her face and he threw her away from where we are. Shichirou then went to where Matou-sensei was and kicked her five times while yelling "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" to her repeatedly. After that, he turned back to me and cracked his knuckles again as he began to approach me again. Dammit! I was still too weak I could barely even move a muscle. I tried to get up, slowly and painfully, trying to push myself off the floor. It was struggling for me to even move myself, but I didn't care right now. Even the way I am now, I still had to fight back against him. But just then, as I was about to get up, I was felt a foot on my back and I was forcibly pushed back to the ground painfully. I was in immense pain being pushed back to the ground. I turned my head around to the left side in order to look up at Shichirou from my left. I saw that he was standing there looking down on me with one foot on my back that was pushing me down, and he was smirking down at me for how pathetic I was right now.

"Dammit…!" I thought, while struggling to move, "I can't get up now…!"

"What's the matter, wannabe superhero?" he mockingly asked, "Did ya lost your 'superpowers' or something?" He laughed at me before he continued, "Did ya really think you could best me? You? A weakling? Who do you think you are to challenge me? Huh?"

I tried not to listen to what he was saying. All I could do was grunt at him and struggle to try and get up, all to no vail. I was stomped to the ground once again, and I did little to none to fight back since I was still too weak to even move my own body.

"Say," said Shichirou, "Why do you still struggle, huh? Why do you still insist on fighting back? Why do you still persist on trying to fight me? You know that even if you did try to put me down, I would still rise and break you again, right? And even if you fix your limps and body, I'd break them again." He stomped on me again before he continued, "People like you try so hard, but every time, it ends badly for them; the same bad results, you have proved that. It's why weak people like you don't have any real power to fight and to survive, and why strong people like me have strength and power to rule over every other weaklings that're just like you! You've seen what I can do, and that's why I'll live as the strongest! Even people you think you may save will turn their backs on you, because you're weak! And yet, you, out of all the weaklings that I make around suffer, you still try to fight and resist me. Why? Is it because you wanna be a "Hero of Justice" or something? Huh? Is that it? You wanna be the world's savior to save weaklings from strong people like me? Huh? Tell me!"

For a moment, I stopped struggling, after hearing what he was saying to me, and I felt him stop stomping me for me to process what he was asking of me. There was one line that he said that made me stop for a moment. A "Hero of Justice". Hero of Justice, huh? Me, being the world's savior? Ha. What a joke. I chuckled at that line, and then I began laughing a bit, not too loud and not too much, much to Shichirou's confusion. Then, I stopped laughing and looked at him from my side with a look of seriousness.

"Hero of Justice?" I began, "World's savior? Don't make me laugh, you big idiot! I'm not doing this because I want to be a Hero of Justice! I'm not doing this because I want to be the world's savior! I'm not doing this so that I can save everyone and everything! I'm not doing this so that I can save the world! All of those things…they're nothing but a load of crap, because that's an impossible thing to do; THAT is something that I can't do, because it's impossible for me to save everyone! I…I don't want to become the Hero of Justice, nor am I going to be one, because saving everyone in the world is the one thing that I can't do! So, no! I'm not doing this to be a Hero of Justice! And like I said, I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for everyone; because it's the right thing to do, and because it's so I can be brave for them, and because helping as many people that I can help is something I CAN do, and because if I don't do something to fight for them…" I then found and grabbed a broken hilt of the broken wooden sword and held it tightly before shouting, "…THEN NO ONE ELSE WILL!" Then, with all my strength and might that I had left and as quickly as I could, I used the broken top of the bottom broken wooden sword and stabbed it at Shichirou's leg that was stepping on my back, right around his bottom calves.

Out of shock and sudden pain, Shichirou screamed in pain and agony after being stabbed in the leg, causing him to release his foot that was on my back and I could get up and move again; though the pain of what I went through was still there, so I had to move as slowly as I could. I turned and look to see him still screaming and crying in pain, agony, and in complete horror at what had happened to his leg while cursing to himself and the pain. Everyone else in the room was in complete shock and amazement at what I just did. As soon as I got on my hands and knees, I was suddenly kicked in the stomach and I was kicked to the side again, and I was laid to the side again. I looked up to see him giving me an angry and dangerous look on his face, as if he now wants to kill me. In fact, I could tell he already plans to kill me.

"THAT'S! IIIIITTT!" he screamed at me, angrily, "YOU! ARE SO DEAD!"

Out of sheer rage and anger, he lifted his right arm up, ready to land a one final blow on me, and I could already tell that this last blow was definitely going to kill me for sure if he crushes my face with it. Then, he quickly and ferociously threw his arm down for one final strike, and out of panic, I closed my eyes shut and I was about to brace for the impact of that blow. By the time I closed my eyes to brace myself, there was an impact. But…I didn't feel the impact, I just heard it. I slowly opened my eyes again for me to look up. to my sudden surprise, there was a fist that was already close to my face, but it was stopped for some reason. I looked at his arm and noticed something. There was another hand that was gripping at his arm, preventing him landing a final punch at me, and to my surprise, it was a girl's hand that looked to be slightly small and slender, yet the grip of her hand was surprisingly strong despite it. When the hand yanked his arm to the side still holding onto her grip, I caught a clear view of who my savior was. And to my surprise, it was a maid that stopped him. I looked at Shichirou, even he was shocked and surprised who had stopped him. I looked back at the maid girl and took a clear view of who she was and what she looked like.

The maid that saved me has short, rough cut pink wavy hair and deep blue eyes. She appears to be about 4'9" tall and appears to be in a slender build body. She seems to be wearing a traditional maid uniform, which has the usual black and white elements commonly associated with a maid uniform-frilly shoulder ruffles with a high collar, a long sleeved black blouse with white cuffs, a long white apron ending in more ruffles covering a calve-length black skirt, with a red bow tied around her collar and a traditional-looking French maid lace doily hat.

She turned to look down on me to look at me, and I looked up at her back. After looking at me for a few moments while still holding onto Shichirou's arm very tightly, and surprisingly she's very strong and was still holding onto him without even breaking a sweat, she smiled at me and kindly said, "Are you alright, mister? Are you hurt?"

"Huh?" I said, slightly surprised and confused, "U-Uh, yeah, no…I'm…I'm okay. I-I'm fine…um….thank you…"

The maid continued smiling and nodded, saying sweetly, "Good. I'm glad that I got here in time."

"Hey, you little bitch!" Shichirou yelled, "Who the hell ya think you are?!" Then he tried to pull out of her grip, but surprisingly to no vail, before he yelled at her, "And let go of me, you bitch! How are you this strong?! You have any idea who I am?!"

The maid, however, ignored him, and continued smiling at me. "You, good sir, have done enough fighting for today," she said sweetly, "Please, good sir, take a good rest, and allow me to handle the rest from here."

I had no other words to say to the maid as I was still amazed that she was able to hold on to him without worrying or breaking any sweat, so I just stood there and nodded my head, giving her affirmation that I would let her handle it.

"Thank you, good sir." the maid nodded while smiling, before she turned to Shichirou, and instead of the nice look that she gave me, she gave him a deathly glare of hate, and she said coldly, "As for you, terrible sir, I would say for you that that is enough of hurting people for today. You are coming with me to the student council's office to be dealt with personally."

"What?!" he shouted, angrily, "Who the hell do you think you are, huh, bitch?!"

He quickly raised his other free hand to land a punch on her face and threw his free arm out to give her a deadly blow. Unfortunately for him, however, the maid was already quick to block his attack and quickly wrapped her arm around his to lock it around hers, causing him and his arms to be stuck, unable to get out of the strains that he was trapped in. Then, out of nowhere, she kicked him in the groin, causing immense pain to Shichirou as he was now growing weaker from the pain. The maid released his arms to allow him to cover between his legs, as he was now going down on his knees while groaning painfully from the impact that she made.

"It's quite rude of you to attack a lady, while she is telling you to stand down, terrible sir." said the maid, coldly, "You have quite a terrible manner for someone of such strong builds."

The maid then walked up to him, standing about close to his face when he looked up at her. She then said coldly to him, "As for who I am, terrible sir. I am the maid of the current student council president of Homurahara High and heir to the house of the Tohsaka family, Mirai Tohsaka."

This caused everyone in the room to gasped as they had all recognized the name that the maid had said, Mirai Tohsaka. This even shocked and terrified Shichirou as he realized that the one that sent the maid to stop him was none other than the only person that he was truly afraid of. Even the name suddenly hit me when I heard it.

Mirai Tohsaka, she is the current student council president that everyone loved and admired due to her great status and popularity. She has been known to the school as "The Eyes of Fortune" as she has been known to giving fortunes about what would happen to their lives much sooner or later or even any future events that may happen to them should they want to have it come true or if they want to be careful, and whatever fortunes that she makes, it all somehow comes true for everyone; some were good and some were bad, and the bad ones were the ones that many tried to avoid as much as possible. I honestly never met the student council president yet, but I heard that she's pretty good at being the student council president and that she knows lots of stuff as if she had foreseen what might happen to people in any events sooner or later, and that she would send her members of the student council to either make it happen or to prevent it from happening.

Actually, now that I think about it, maybe she foresaw this and that's what's going on now. And she sent her maid to stop it of all people.

"Now, then…Shichirou Hashimoto, was it?" said the maid, "Also known as "The School's Worst Bully". Age 17. 2nd year. 6'0" tall. Known for hurting and threatening others, including teachers and the principal, and most recently, have broken the arms of the captain of the archery club until she bled, as well as using physical violence on the club's supervisor, Sakura Matou-sensei, AND putting up an unfair fight to one of her very students that she favors dearly. You, terrible sir, are in a heap of trouble for causing such disturbing ruckuses and for putting others in such terrible harms and position. This is the line that you have terribly crossed and that must not be taken lightly. You will be taken to the student council's office, for you will be there for further speculations and shall be punished thoroughly by our Madam Tohsaka herself."

Shichirou growled angrily as he got back up after recovering from the impact and he gave her a deadly snarl like an angry hound about to attack his prey. Then, out of sheer hate, he yelled angrily, "AS IF I WILL BE, YOU DAMNED BITCH! I'M GONNA KILL YOU BEFORE THAT HAPPENS!" Then, he began charging ferociously at the maid, despite the leg injury that I had given him.

The maid sighed before she stepped aside to her right, making him pass by her as she said expressionlessly and nonchalantly, "You will fail trying to."

Then, out of nowhere, she drew out of her hand a leather whip stick crop in her right hand, and then out of quickness, she used it to slap his left abdomen, making him feel the pain and suddenly making him fall to the ground. The maid stopped and stood there elegantly as she turned and smiled to the awestruck archery club members and bowed as if they were her audience. Then, she heard Shichirou getting up ferociously and looked at the corner of her eyes that he was about to give her a bunching blow up above her. When he dropped his arms to punch her, however, the maid quickly ducked down and jumped backwards to let him pass again, and then she charged up at him and gave him two quick hits from behind his back, making him stagger in pain before he turned around to hit her again with a back punch. The maid stepped back from his attack and then went down to give him three quick slaps to each of his legs, making him stagger and nearly fall forward. The maid saw this and rolled over to her left side and then quickly hit his back of his right calves, making Shichirou feel the pain from his leg and fall backwards and landed on his back. When he looked up, he saw that the maid was pointing her crop at him with a serious expression on her face, making him stagger in fear a little.

"Now then," said the maid, "Do you yield, terrible sir?"

Shichirou growled before he yelled angrily, "AS IF, YOU BITCH!"

The maid sighed and said, "I thought not…"

The maid quickly stepped out of the way as Shichirou got up and tried to punch her only for him to miss again. As he tried to make another punch again, the maid quickly used her crop and slapped his approaching left arm, making him loose his fist as he winced in pain and pulled his arm back. He then tried to use his right arm to strike, only for the maid to slap it with her crop and making him loose his fist on his right arm. Shichirou looked at the maid angrily only for him to be slapped in the face by her crop. The maid then began slapping him very fast with her crop as she was now slapping him everywhere, all from top to bottom, and then back to the top again, and she was even moving everywhere around him fast and even slapping him everywhere around his back before going back to the front, then moved to his back, and all of that was being repeated. The maid was really amazingly fast at slapping him everywhere; in fact, she was like super-fast that even my eyes could hardly even see wherever she was going and wherever she was hitting him at. I could even tell Shichirou was having a very hard time on trying to get to her but was feeling the pain so much he couldn't even try to move around because it was like she was around him everywhere.

It kept going on and on until eventually, the maid went down and slapped both of Shichirou's legs twice each, before going for the leg that I had wounded him in with the broken sword earlier, really hard enough for Shichirou to feel it, distracting him with the pain. He was screaming out really loud painfully as the wound was now bleeding again. The maid took the opportunity and quickly ran passed to go behind him, before the maid quickly jumped up and span around in the air. Then, with full force, she did a back-roundhouse kick to the back of his head and the left side of his face, knocking him down to the ground.

The maid landed on the ground, very lightly and elegantly, and then bowed and smiled to her "audiences" who were all awestruck from what they had just witnessed. The maid then went back to approach Shichirou who was struggling to get up on his feet. By the time she got to him, he was standing on his hands and knees. When he looked up and turned his head to see the maid in front of him, she was standing there with her arms behind her back and with the same very smile on her face.

"Now then, Shichirou Hashimoto," she said, still smiling, "Next time, why not try to remember what happens when Madam Tohsaka sends one of us, and remember your place like everyone else…" Then, her face suddenly became an ugly scowl, before she said coldly, "And never, EVER DARE hurt anyone else, EVER AGAIN!"

Before Shichirou could react, the maid already quickly raised her crop and hit him in the back of his head real hard, knocking him out cold.

The maid then turned to the awestruck members of the archery club, who were amazed at the maid just did, and she smiled and bowed to them again as if they were her audience. No one in the room said nothing before one of them cheered, "That…was AWESOME!" Then everyone cheered along as they all then approached the maid and began to either cheer and congratulate her or shake her hand in appreciation and saying thank you to her, and the maid accepted all with a kind smile on her face.

Then, she stopped at said, "Alright now, that's enough everyone. While I do appreciate your admiration for me and my actions and your appreciation for what I have done today, I believe that it is time you should all deal with the real issues here. Your captain of the archery club is still suffering from both her arms broken as well as blood loss from her wounds, and your supervisor is in need of any medical treatments that she may need from her latest physical violence. You should all tend to your captain and supervisor immediately and give them any help treatments that they may require from you at once."

Each of the club members looked at both their captain and Matou-sensei respectively. They then looked at each other and nodded, taking the maid's word wholly and they spilt up into two groups to help them; the first half went to their captain, while the other half went to Matou-sensei.

I then saw the maid approached me and bowed to me, before she said, "Yuzuru Shindou-sama, was it? How are you feeling now, good sir? Are you well rested? With enough rest, you should be able to stand up on your own two feet by now, despite the injuries that you have sustained and received."

"Huh? O-Oh…!" I said, confused, before I noticed something. She was right! Despite what Shichirou put me through, I was well rested and I was able to move my body get back up again. After I got back up, I looked at the maid who was smiling at me and I said, "Umm…y-yeah, I'm okay now. I'm fine, thank you. Umm…uh…"

The maid giggled and introduced herself, "It is Aimi Shimizu, good sir."

"Aimi Shimizu…" I said her name, "Then…Thank you, Shimizu-san."

"Oh, no need for my last name and honorifics." she said, "I am merely a simple maid, working for the student council, so please just call me Aimi."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said, "Well, if you say so…um…Aimi."

"Good sir," said Aimi, "While I am glad that you are not further hurt nor worsen, and as much as I'd like to say to you that you are fine and that there is nothing for you to worry about, you are still injured and are in need of medical treatments for your injuries that you have sustained. I would advise that it would be best for you go to the nurse's office for some attention."

She was right. Even though I'm all better now, I still need to be treated for all the beating that I got from Shichirou. Even if it wasn't a big deal now, I still have to get myself patched up to get myself as good as new again. I decided that I should take her advice and go to the nurse's office.

I nodded to her and said, "Okay, I will. Thanks for the advice."

"Good." Aimi smiled, "And, Shindou-sama."

"Huh?" I said, "Yeah?"

"I wish to say that what you did for everyone here today," she said, keeping that smile, "You should know that you were very brave. Reckless and thoughtless, but nonetheless, you were very brave."

Aimi then turned around and then lifted the unconscious Shichirou up to carry him onto her shoulders. She looked at me and then smiled at me again one last time before she began to walk away with the unconscious Shichirou.

I stood there and watched the maid leaves all the way until she was gone from my sight. After that, I went with the archery club members to the nurse's office to get the captain, Matou-sensei, and myself treated.

* * *

At the nurse's office, I was already patched up from my injuries and was covered in bandages. The nurse said that it wasn't that dangerously serious, but I still needed to be wrapped in bandages in order for me to completely heal. After that, I decided to see how everyone else was doing, but before I could go, I saw Matou-sensei opened up the curtains and approached me. She had a look of concern and I felt there was a serious atmosphere around her. I guess she must be upset with me now.

Matou-sensei cleared her throat and asked, "How are you, Shindou-kun?"

"I'm fine." I answered, "My injuries aren't that serious, but after all that beating, I still need to be wrapped up to make sure I'm fine."

Matou-sensei nodded and said out of relief, "That's good. It's good to hear that you'll be fine."

"And what about you?" I asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just bruises and slap marks, but I'll be fine." she answered, "Besides, I've been through worst…in my younger years."

"Oh." I said, "Okay, then…that's good."

Matou-sensei sighed before she looked at me and said in a serious tone, "But more importantly…Shindou-kun! What were you thinking?!"

This shook me a little as I stepped back from Matou-sensei a bit, because I knew why she was using that tone on me. I knew that I was in serious trouble as what I did back there really made her mad. I can even tell from that serious look on her face that she was making at me. It was a serious look that no one else in the school wanted to see her make when they get in trouble or when they didn't do what they were told to do by her. It was like she became from a very kindhearted mother to a now angry strict mother that no one wanted to see. Yup, she is definitely called "The School's Mother" for a reason.

Matou-sensei was still looking at me with that serious look on her face, as she wanted me to answer her now. I honestly didn't want to argue with her, so I just sighed to myself and said to her apologetically, "I'm sorry, Matou-sensei…I just…I just wanted to help and…things just happened…and-"

"Stop, right there!" she half-shouted at me, cutting me off, "Don't you give me that "things just happened" excuse to me, young man! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw you recklessly went in there and started trying to fight him off?! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw you getting beaten up by him?! Do you have ANY idea what would have happened if you'd gotten yourself hurt even further, or EVEN worse, GOTTEN KILLED?! Do you have ANY idea at all?! What on EARTH were you even thinking?!"

I was taken aback when she already shouted those words to me. Her face expression was in mixture of upset, seriousness, and concerns. Even in her eyes, I could already tell that she really was worried about me, and I knew that what I just did back there really made her upset and I felt really bad for what I did. Again, I sighed to myself as I looked away from her face and said apologetically, "I'm sorry…"

"…Yuzuru." said Matou-sensei, saying my first name, which made me to look up at her again a bit surprised, but her expression remains serious to me, "Listen, I'm not angry at you for doing what you did today to protect us, I'm just disappointed in you for not doing what I had told you to do. I had told you to wait outside the dojo and then go look for help if and whenever something goes wrong. I never said for you to go inside and then pick a fight with Hashimoto. I gave you that specific instruction as YOUR teacher, and then you just completely disobeyed them just for you to end up getting hurt."

Then, her expression softened and asked out of concern, "Why didn't you do what I'd asked you to do, and instead went on to try to do something reckless? Why didn't you just go and look for help when something was wrong? You didn't have to do anything and you could just let the adults handle this, but instead you went out there on your own accord. Why?"

"W-Well…" I hesitantly said, "I-"

"And don't think about giving me an excuse, like "things just happened" excuse." she cut me off a bit, "I want to hear, your honest answer."

My honest answer…

I nodded to myself and said to her with all honesty, "Well, like I said, I just wanted to help. And honestly, I couldn't just leave you, or the members of the archery club on your own. If I'd left, then you and everyone else would've gotten even more hurt, or even worse than that. Also, when I looked around the school to find help, nobody was there passing by for me to call for them. Even if I did find someone, I don't think that anyone would want to help, and all because of Shichirou. I mean, you saw what Shichirou is, and you know what he'd do to people that tries to get in his way. Even if I did bring in lots of help that I could find, Shichirou would just make them all be afraid of him. Hell, even the principal is afraid of him because he threatened him. By the time I saw him hurting you and everyone else, I…I knew I had to do something, and leaving you there was the last thing I'd rather do. Honestly, I knew I wasn't the best fighter, and I knew I couldn't beat him in a fight, but…I had to at least try. Even if I knew that I'd fail, I had to at least try and do something to fight back, because no one else in the dojo would. I had to be brave for them, because they were scared. I had to try. Not just for me, but for you and the other people who were scared."

I gave her a sadden look on my face and said to her, "I'm sorry. You were right. I should've just listen to you, but…but I couldn't, because the last thing I wanna do is…" I stopped to sigh and then said, "…is to see you all in pain. All because no one else did anything."

Everything was quiet now for the moment. We were both silent as we both processed on what I had said. There were no more talks, no more yelling or scolding, just…silence. Complete silence until Matou-sensei spoke up.

"No." she said, which made me looked at her a little surprised. She then gave me a warm smile and said sweetly, "I think that your reasons are justifiable, Shindou-kun."

"Huh?" I said, surprised, "Really?"

"Yes." she nodded, still smiling, "You're right. It's true that everyone in school is afraid of Hashimoto, because of his horrible antics and his irrational behavior towards everyone, and everyone would always get hurt because of what he would do to them, and even as a teacher, I'm no exception. And yes, while your actions and your reckless behavior was…just as irrational as Hashimoto, you were indeed very brave. And you have tried your best, all the way up until the student council member showed up and took care of everything."

"Sensei…" I said, relieved.

"However," she said, with one finger lifted, before she pointed at me and scolded me with a stern look, "That does NOT mean that your action today is something to be praised about, nor is it something that YOU should be proud of, young man! You were given a specific instruction of not going in there unless you brought help with you, but nonetheless, you were thinking for yourself by recklessly going in there to fight in order to protect others from harm, and then in the process, you yourself had gotten hurt instead! That reckless behavior of yours is something that should not be tolerated and you should now know better than to go in there and fight by yourself!"

Oh, jeez. I never seen her look that mad at me before. Then again, I guess I did out done it to myself. Though I guess it's okay, since I did deserve it. Hell, if anything, I deserve a lot of scolding from everyone in school. And besides, after what I did for them back at the dojo, I guess Matou-sensei could go easy on me and let me off the hook for a while.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, "I'm sorry, sensei."

Matou-sensei stopped pointing at me, lowering her arms and said while softening her tone, "It's alright. As I said, I'm not angry, just disappointed. But, I'm also gald that you did what you did back there, and I'm proud of you for what you did for us, for me. However, the next time a situation like this happens again, don't put yourself at risk for us again. Follow what I tell you to do and go call for help next time. Even if it becomes hopeless, just go and look for help. I don't want my favorite student to end up getting hurt again. Do you understand?"

I nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Yes, Matou-sensei. It won't happen again. I can't promise anything, though."

Matou-sensei looked at me for a moment before she sighed and muttered, "You really are just like him…"

"Hmm?" I said, confused.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." she smiled at me.

"Oh, okay." I said, before I remembered, "By the way, how's the captain of the archery club?"

Her expression became sadden and said, "Unfortunately, not so well, after what had happened to her."

"Mind if you show me?" I asked, "I'm just a little concerned as you are."

Sensei nodded and then gestured for me to follow her, and I did.

As we walked, she was leading me to the next bed curtain that was just at the opposite side of where I was. When we made it there, she opened up the curtains to reveal the members of the archery club that were gathering around the bed before they noticed us, and they moved away to reveal their captain.

Their captain was…well, let's just say, in a very worst shape than we were. Both of her arms were covered and wrapped around bandages and casted along with her hands. The captain was crying for what had happened to her as she looked at both of her bandaged and casted arms, while everyone else just looked down in shame, unable to do anything for her. There were few who snickered for what she deserved but were all suddenly silenced by Matou-sensei who glared at him with strict eyes. We then approached the crying captain and Matou-sensei sat on the chair that was right next to the captain, while I stood there next to her to watch.

"Tsukino," said Matou-sensei, "How're you feeling right now?"

The crying captain, Tsukino, looked at Matou-sensei tearfully and sobbed, "Matou-sensei…I-I…I…I can't…I can't…"

"Easy." I said, trying to calm her down, "Just calm down. Just take a deep breath and calm yourself. Breathe and calm down."

Tsukino, however, instead of doing what I said, she glared at me angrily and yelled, "SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME TO BE CALM! DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, YOU FUCKING USLESS DUMB-"

Matou-sensei suddenly got up and slapped her in the face real hard and scolded, "Tsukino! Don't you EVER yell at my student when he's telling you to calm down! Besides, you should be grateful for him for what he did! He saved your life from Hashimoto!"

Tsukino looked at her shocked before she turned back to me with a glare and said angrily, "Saved my life?! That useless dumbass didn't save my life! He didn't even come to save me when I was being attack! He didn't even save me when my arms were being crushed! And now, look! Look at me! Look at what that brute did to my arms! I can't even feel them or move them anymore!"

Tsukino then began crying again. We just stood and watched her crying for a moment as Matou-sensei then sat back on her chair again. Tsukino then glared angrily at me and shouted angrily, "AND YOU! Do you have ANY godly idea what I've been through, what I had to endure from this?! Do you have ANY idea what kind of pain that he inflicted on me?! Do you have ANY idea, WHAT it's like, LOSING both arms that can't move anymore?! HUH?! DO YOU?!"

I was taken aback by what she was shouting at me about, but I became composed again as I looked back at her and said, "You're right, I'm sorry. I don't. I don't know what you've been through, what you had to go through."

Matou-sensei looked at me for a bit out of concern before looking back at Tsukino who was still glaring at her, as did everyone else before they looked at their captain.

"You didn't save me…!" said Tsukino, before she yelled at me angrily, "YOU RUINED ME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU RUINED MY ARMS! YOU RUINED MY DREAM! YOU RUINED MY REPUTATION! YOU RUINED MY ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOAL THAT I HELD IN MY HEART! YOU RUINED MY WISH! MY…my…!" she stopped for a moment to catch her breath before she yelled angrily at me again, "THIS WAS THE ONE THING THAT I DREAMED OF DOING! BEING THE CAPTAIN OF THE ARCHERY CLUB! ALL I WANTED WAS TO BE CAPTAIN! I DEDICATED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS, FOR THIS TRAINING, FOR ALL OF THE ARCHERY CLUB! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CAPTAIN, AND BE LEADER OF IT! THAT WAS MY DESTINY! AND YOU! YOU RUINED IT!"

After all that yelling, she looked away from me and began wailing as tears were falling out of her eyes, and all I could do is just stand and watch, as did everyone else as each of them then began to look down again in shame. Tsukino wasn't wrong. She did dedicate herself for the archery club, as I could tell that she had worked really hard for herself to get herself into becoming captain of archery. Matou-sensei, after hearing all of what Tsukino said, spoke up for me, "You're wrong, Tsukino. You've got it all wrong."

Tsukino then stopped crying as she then looked at her supervisor shocked at what she said, that Matou-sensei of all people, would speak up to defend me.

"It's true that you dedicated yourself to the archery club," Matou-sensei began, "And it's true that you've worked really hard into getting yourself into becoming captain of the archery club. However, you're wrong about my favorite student, Shindou-kun, being the one who ruined you and your dreams. All of what you said about him is all wrong. As in case you didn't know, Shindou-kun was the one who sacrificed himself to defend you and the archery club members from being hurt my Hashimoto and protected all of you until he could barely hold himself anymore, all so that none of you would be further harmed, or worst. And despite the fact that he failed to stop Hashimoto, Shindou-kun still stood himself up to protect all of you, as he was being brave for all of you, when none of you in the dojo could."

Everyone in the archery club muttered to themselves, remembering what I said and did at the archery club, before they all nodded in agreement to what Matou-sensei had just said to Tsukino, before they called to me and all began to show gratitude towards me one by one, even though I failed.

"Thank you, Shindou-san." "Thank you for saving us." "Thanks for the save." "You really saved us back there." "You weren't good at fighting, but really, thank you." "Thank you so much." "It was stupid of you going out there, but thanks." "You were very brave out there." "Thanks, Shindou-san." "Thank you for being brave for us." "Thank you very much back there." "You were beat, but you at least put up a good fight there." "Thank you so much, Shindou-san"

"No, it's okay." I said, kindly, "You don't need to thank me for that. I was just doing what I can for you guys, because you were all scared. I just wanted to do what I can to help, that's all."

Everyone gave me each of their warm smiles at me and continued to thank me for what I did anyway, and one by one, they either shook my hand or hugged me in appreciation. Even though I failed to beat Shichirou, they at least showed that they were thankful for what I did. Tsukino, on the other hand…didn't seem appreciated for what I did, as she then yelled at them.

"STOP THANKING THAT USELESS FUCKER!" she yelled, angrily, "WHAT IS THERE TO FUCKING THANK HIM FOR?! HE DIDN'T EVEN FUCKING DO ANYTHING TO SAVE US! HE DIDN'T SAVE ME! HE DIDN'T FUCKING DO ANYTHING AT ALL! HE-"

"Stop, Captain Tsukino!" a male archery club member said. He seemed to be close with the captain, so I assumed that maybe he's the vice-captain. He stood in front of me blocking her way from me and said, "Matou-sensei is right about him! He did do something for us! He saved us when no one else could! Even if he did fail to beat down Hashimoto, he still protected us from him! I'm grateful for what he did for us, we all are! And…you should be grateful, too. He's…"

Matou-sensei lifted a hand to signal him to stop for a moment, and he did. Matou-sensei then turned back to the captain and said to her, "Tsukino, can you understand what everyone is saying to you now? Shindou-kun is not at fault for what had happened to you, nor is it anyone's fault for not being able to do anything for you. In fact, none of them even knew what would've happened to you sooner or later during practice, nor what would've happened to you even now. Do you know the real reason, why all of this had happened to you in the first place?"

Tsukino stopped for a moment and looked down, trying to think of a reason why. But, her facial expression showed that there was not just anger, but there was also a mixture of sadness and confusion. I guess it shouldn't be surprising since her anger, strictness, and sadness had probably clouded her mind, making her completely confused. She must've probably spent so much time being the strict captain to everyone that she didn't have time to stop and think about it, and it may have clouded her mind and thoughts of judgements.

It was on like this for a while before Matou-sensei answered, "It's because of your disdainful attitude and your aggressive behavior towards everyone."

Tsukino looked at sensei in shock and complete disbelief in what she said to her, before looking at everyone who all nodded in agreement. Then, Tsukino looked back at Matou-sensei who continued.

"The reason why all of this had happened to you was because of your recent attitude and behavior towards everyone in the archery club was being horrible and that you were being too strict towards those that work with you during practice." said Matou-sensei, "Your strictness and harshness towards everyone was the reason why you got yourself in such a horrifying situation, and the reason why no one would come to get you out of that situation. Your attitude was the reason why everyone in the archery club has shown great dislike towards you, and your strictness is the reason why no one wish to continue doing any club activities. You're too dedicated to the club that it has gotten all over your head to make you think that everyone is not taking the club seriously." She stopped to sigh before she continued, "Look, Tsukino, you are very strong and very dedicated to archery, and you wish to make everyone the same, and I'm grateful that you are and grateful that you're doing so for them. But, not everyone is like you, not everyone is as much dedicated as you are, and not everyone in the club can keep up with you and your skills in archery. Everyone has limits to what they can do, and everyone in the club is no exception, not even you. Your harshness and strictness has cause lots of stress towards everyone, and you putting blame on my favorite student does not help your situation, and that is something that I, as a supervisor, cannot accept."

"But, I-" Tsukino tried to shout again.

"That's ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!" said Matou-sensei, sternly. This made Tsukino stop and froze in fear from her being serious. Matou-sensei then soften her expression and said sadly to her, "Look, Tsukino. All of this happened because of what you were and how you had behaved recently towards everyone, and everything that happened today is something that you should blame yourself for and not others. What happens now no longer matters. Everyone and myself here have already drawn to our conclusions as to what had happened today and whose fault it was. And as a supervisor of the archery club, it is my job to inform you, Tsukino…that you are no longer qualified, to be the captain of the archery club."

This news shocked Tsukino as her eyes became widened in complete shock and horror. Matou-sensei then said, "And, due to your recent disdained attitude and harsh behavior towards everyone, and the injuries that you've sustained during what happened today, I will also inform to you that you're no longer a member the archery club. You're banned from coming to the dojo and doing anything related to our club activities."

This shocked Tsukino even more as her pupils became smaller from shock at what she was hearing. She then tried to reason, saying, "No…no, you can't! You can't kick me out! Please, don't kick me out! I'm the captain, and I need to lead this club! I need to be leader! This club needs me!"

Unfortunately, Matou-sensei shook her head no and said, "It has already been decided. As I've said, you're no longer captain of the archery club. That said, the position of captain of the archery club will now go to the vice-captain of the archery club. He'll be the one that'll oversee the archery club until the end up to graduation day, or until further notice." Matou-sensei then got up from her chair to turn to everyone else and said, "That is all. Due to the recent incident today, tomorrow's club activities will be canceled until the dojo is fully cleaned from the recent mess that was made, and all the archery equipments are all fixed from any damages. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." they all nodded.

"Good." said Matou-sensei, "You're all dismissed."

They all nodded and bowed to her before they turned around and began to leave the nurse's office one by one until it was only just me, Matou-sensei, Tsukino, and the now new captain of the archery club. Matou-sensei sighed to herself, exhausted about what happened today. I can't disagree with her there. After today, I'm a bit exhausted, too.

Matou-sensei then looked at me with a smile and said sweetly, "Well then, shall we leave, Shindou-kun? It's going to be late soon and you don't want to be around after curfew."

"Yeah, sure." I said. I stopped for a minute to turn around and looked at the now crying and depressed Tsukino, who was being comforted by the new captain. I looked at her out of sympathy, and I couldn't help but look sad.

I then felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Matou-sensei as she said, "Let's leave them be for today. After all that's happened, she's going to need to take time to take it all in. She'll have to be able to face reality soon enough."

I looked at them one more time, before I nodded in agreement. Then, we left the nurse's office, leaving Tsukino and the new captain alone.

* * *

The sun was already beginning to set and the sky was getting a bit darker as we left the school and began to walk to leave at the school's entrance. I looked at Matou-sensei who looked at me back and smiled. Seeing her smile like that, I just couldn't help but smile back. We then stopped to talk for a moment.

"Shindou-kun," Matou-sensei began, "After what happened today, I just wanted to say thank you for saving everyone, for saving me."

"Oh, not at all." I said, "I just wanted to help as best I can. Plus, you're my teacher, and I can't let any bad students like Shichirou do something bad to hurt you…" I stopped to think about what I'd said for a moment, before I corrected myself, saying "…or any other teachers that're involved." Honestly, I wanna avoid her teasing me again. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to work, as Matou-sensei somehow noticed this and gave off a teasing grin at me. Oh, God, this is not good.

Matou-sensei began to lean towards me, moving her body closer to mine before she said to me seductively, "My, oh, my. _Shindou-kun~ Could it be…that. You're. Fall-ing. For. Me?_ "

"Huh?! H-H-H-HUH?!" I quickly stammered nervously, as I was now trying to back away from Matou-sensei, who then quickly wrapped her arms around my left arm, making my arm being pushed closer to her…oh no! My arm's already gotten close to her supple assets that are now right in front of me! Oh, God! Oh, God, they're so close, I can already feel them! Oh God! They're so big! So supple! Hell, they feel really soft even through her clothes! I didn't know what to think. I didn't even know what to do! So, I just gulped out of utter nervousness. I looked away from her chest and then looked at Matou-sensei who was looking at me seductively.

" _Hey, Shindou-kun~_ " she said, seductively, " _Do you want me~? All to yourself for tonight~? If you want, I can be your girl all to yourself~ Well~?_ "

Oh, God, I have to stop this! "U-U-Uh…w-w-w-wait, M-Matou-sensei..." I said, nervously, "I-I-I-I…I-I-I…I don't t-t-think we should be doing this! I mean, someone else could see us! And I don't think-"

"Shhhhh…" she shushed me as she placed her finger on my lips. She then went even closer to me and smiled as she whispered seductively into my ears, " _Don't worry, Shindou-kun. Everyone else has already left school, so no one else is around to see us, let alone catch us and bother us._ " Then, she placed her hand closer to her…oh no! She was close to removing her blazer to show her big assets! Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! What do I do?! As I panicked, I tried to pull out of her embrace, but she held onto me real tight that I couldn't even escape.

" _Uh~uh~uhhh~_ " she seductively said as she moved closer, revealing her cleavage to my face, " _You're not going anywhere, young man~ Because, you have captured my heart tonight~ And I, want. To. Have. You. To. Night~_ "

"N-N-No, wait, sensei!" I tried to reason, "We can't! We really shouldn't-"

" _Don't worry, Shindou-kun~_ " she said, seductively, while pulling my arms already closer to her soft chest, " _Like I said, no one is around, so no one's going to bother us. We're all alone, you and I, all by ourselves together, in this very lovely evening~_ " She then placed her hand on my right cheek to make me look at her lovely face, to make me look at her seductive eyes, showing her obsessiveness towards me, and with her pupils showing the shape of hearts. Oh, no! This is not gonna be good! I just know it! I didn't know where to look other than her face, but I didn't want to look at her chest either, because she'd might notice where I'm looking! Oh, God, what do I do?!

" _Hey, Shindou-kun~_ " said Matou-sensei, seductively, as she then placed her hand on top of her breasts for me to see, " _Come on…take me~ I'll be all yours for tonight~ I'll love you in any way that no other women could~ I can make you fall for me all over for tonight~ I'll make so much love to you that you'll never ever fall for any other girl that you'll look at~ And~ I'll. Rock. Your. Whole. World~_ "

In that moment, after hearing her say those words, all of my thoughts and mentality broke, despite my strength to resist my sexual urges.

Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Shit! I don't know what to do now! Oh, man, after hearing what she said to me, I don't think I can take it anymore! She's so close! So close! She's so close to me, and she's telling me to do these crazy things to her, all with those lustful looks in her eyes! No! No, no, no! I gotta…I gotta do something! I have…I have to fight this. I have to fight the urges! Fight my sexual urges! Just…FIGHT IT!

I quickly closed my eyes shut very tightly, as if to prevent myself from losing control and do something crazily bad thing to sensei, all the while to fight against my sexual urges. I shut my eyes as tight as I could, and waited until I was able to stop my urges and nothing bad would happen. But then, I heard a snap, like a camera took a photo of something. Curious, I slowly and cautiously opened my eyes to see what it was, only to see that it was Matou-sensei holding up her iPhone and taking a picture, all while giggling at me until eventually she burst out laughing out loud while pointing at me.

"Oh, my God!" she laughed, "You should see the look on your face! It's so priceless!"

She then continued laughing out loud as she then showed me the picture she just took. It was a picture of me making a funny face with my eyes closed. I just stood there with a look of bewilderment, as I began to process what the hell just happened. Then, my face became red out of sheer embarrassment as I then realized that she teased me again. Oh, God! She did it again! I CANNOT believe I actually fell for that!

Out of sheer embarrassment, I yelled at her, "GODDAMMIT, SENSEI! IT'S NOT FUNNY! DO HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU PUT ME THROUGH?! I WOULD HAVE COMPLETELY LOST CONTROL!"

Matou-sensei was still laughing out loud all while still holding her phone with a picture of me in my stupid face, until her laughter was slowly dying down as she then said while still laughing a little, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But, you were so cute when made that face, Shindou-kun!"

I sighed exasperatedly and said, "Seriously, Matou-sensei, do you really have to tease me ALL the time? I seriously could've done something that I'd regret later."

Matou-sensei finally calmed down and said, while laughing a little bit, "I can't help it. I like doing these things to you. After all, you're my favorite student. Teasing you is my way of relieving stress from work and such. If I don't have you around and just teased other boys, it wouldn't be so much fun at all."

"Seriously?" I monotoned.

Sensei smiled and said happily, "Yes! Very! After all, you're always here to make me laugh, when I need to relieve myself."

I sighed out of defeat and said as I smiled back, "Oh, well, at least your happy that I'm around. Although, I'd wish you'd stop teasing me all the time. I really would've lost to my hormones."

I then looked to see that Matou-sensei was giving me a mischievous smile and said teasingly, "My, oh, my. Shindou-kun, _you naughty boy_. Could it be…that you WANTED to do it with me? "It" as in _…S…E…X_?"

My face became even more redder from her saying that word, and I yelled out loud, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Matou-sensei started laughing again and said, "I'm joking, Shindou-kun! I'm joking!" She then stopped laughing and said, "You are SO easily fooled, and easy to tease when it comes to women, aren't you, Shindou-kun? Especially if it's an older woman like me."

I sighed exasperatedly again and said as I looked down at the ground, "I swear, Matou-sensei, you're going to be the death of me one day."

Matou-sensei giggled and jokingly said, "Well, I sure hope you don't die anytime soon because of me. It wouldn't really be fun if you were dead already."

I sighed and muttered, "Very funny…"

I then saw that Matou-sensei was still holding her phone and wave it at me. To my shock, the picture of me making that ridiculous face was still there, only this time, she was using it as a wallpaper for the lock screen. I was so shocked that my jaws dropped.

"Well, in the meantime," she smiled, "I'll be keeping this photo of you in my phone for me to look at every day."

"H-Hey!" I said, trying to take her phone, "Matou-sensei!"

Unfortunately, she was already backing away while still smiling with her hands behind her back. She then put her phone away and said, "Well, anyway, you should hurry home before it gets dark soon. We wouldn't want you to be out here for very long for you to break your curfew."

I realized this and then sighed in defeat, and decided to let it go. I looked at her and nodded, saying while smiling back, "Okay, I will. Thanks a lot."

Matou-sensei smiled and nodded, saying, "Good. That's what I'd like to hear from my favorite student. Anyway, I should go now."

She turned around to walk in the opposite direction to where I was going, but then she turned back to wave goodbye to me and said, "Have a good evening, Shindou-kun!"

I waved back and said, "You, too, Matou-sensei."

After that, we turned away from each other and began walking away from school to our separate ways.

* * *

Sakura's POV:

As I continued walking to go home, I took out my phone to look at the picture I took from Shindou-kun today. The look on his face was so funny and adorable, and I couldn't help but giggle at his face that he made.

"Shindou-kun is so adorable." I giggled, "I should do it again, sometimes."

I then looked at his picture again and smiled. Shindou-kun…he really does remind me of him. I looked at the setting sky as it was getting darker, and I said to myself, "I wonder what you're really doing now…senpai?"

* * *

Normal POV:

At the school window, a figure with short shoulder-length black hair was seen watching through the window what was going on outside. The figure looked down to see the recent interaction with Yuzuru Shindou and his teacher Sakura Matou. The figure smiled down at them as she seemed happy about them having fun talking to each other.

Then, another figure with long blonde hair with two white ribbons forming two long pigtails and a black ribbon tied to the rest of her blonde hair approached the figure and asked, "Lady Mirai Tohsaka, if I may ask, why did you choose to have us save the boy? If you hadn't heard, there is absolutely nothing special about him. He's just…normal."

The figure, now named Mirai Tohsaka, turned to her blonde student, loyal servant, and companion, revealing her appearance.

Mirai Tohsaka has black shoulder-length hair with two hair ties tied to make two small strains of hair on both of her sides, and has blueish-green eyes. She appears to be about an inch taller than Yuzuru and has an amazing body as her mother does when she was younger. Like everyone else in school, she wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but like her mother, she also wears a long red trench coat, a gift given to her by her mother. Mirai was holding her cup of tea when she turned around to look at her friend.

Mirai smiled at her fellow student, loyal servant, and companion and said, "Patients, Vice-President, Sayaka Tsukuda. My Mystic Eyes tell me that this boy may become a valuable asset and may be useful for our cause for our upcoming battles. When the time comes, you'll see. Besides, Aimi has seen what he has done in action, and despite his failures of fighting, he was still able to hold on his own. If trained properly, he may become a formidable fighter."

The blonde student and Vice-President, now named Sayaka Tsukuda, stepped up to reveal herself to Mirai.

Sayaka Tsukuda has long blonde hair with two white ribbons forming two long pigtails and a black ribbon tied to the rest of her blonde hair and turquoise eyes. She appears to stand about 5"2' tall, and has about the same slender feature as her mistress. Like Mirai and others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but with a black blazer that has red trimmings, and underneath her skirt, she wears two pistol strap holsters around both of her thighs, two pistols placed in both holsters with magazines strapped around the straps.

"With all due respect, milady," said Sayaka, "Will it really be wise to allow an idiot such as him into the Mage's World, and to involve him into what will come for us? Involving outsiders would be strictly against the rules."

Mirai took a sip of her tea before she looked at Sayaka again and said, "Of course, I'm sure. Trust me, he will become a valuable asset to our cause, despite his flaws and weaknesses. When the time comes, you and the others will soon understand." She then put her tea cup down and continued, "And until then, we must focus on our end. We must have the ritual ready."

Sayaka bowed to her lady and said, "As you wish, milady."

Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." said Mirai.

The door opens to reveal another one of Mirai's servants and companion came in holding a katana that appears to be from the Yakuza.

"Ah, Hiroko Ishikawa." Mirai smiled, "What is it you came to see me for?"

Hiroko Ishikawa, one of Mirai's loyal servant, member of the student council, and companion, came up to Mirai and bowed, before looking up to reveal her appearance.

Hiroko Ishikawa has raven black mohawk hair and sharp dark blue eyes. She appears to be about the same height as Mirai, and has a slightly built up muscular body than Mirai and the other two servants. Like Mirai and others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but like Sayaka, she wears a black blazer, only hers has dark purple trimmings, and underneath her skirt behind her thighs were two knife-like swords that have the same features as her katana that she holds.

"Milady, I've come to inform you that Aimi has the one responsible for the latest incident today and is being kept tied up in another room for you to deal with him personally." said Hiroko, "We are ready to punish him for his aggressive behavior and what he has done today. We simply await your commands."

"Ah, I see." said Mirai, "Thank you. Anything else?"

"A package that was ordered today will be arriving within tomorrow." said Hiroko, "Soon, the ritual for the summoning will be prepared. We simply wait for your time to begin."

"Good." said Mirai, as she took one last sip of her tea before placing it back down and continued, "Then, we'll begin tomorrow at nighttime. My mother will be leaving for London for a certain business trip, and will be returning home for the time being. This will be the perfect time to begin the ritual once again."

"Understood." "Yes, milady." both Hiroko and Sayaka bowed to Mirai.

Mirai closed her eyes as she goes into her thoughts, as she then said, "Finally, the time has come. For the battle that has been set for us mages. The battle that will bring us to victory. the battle that will surely grant our wish. The battle that will change our fate forever. This, will be the battle…" then, she opened her eyes that were now glowing bright blue as her Mystic Eyes were being activated, as she begins to foresee the future, as she then said with pride and determination, "…for the Holy Grail."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it.** **Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	4. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 3

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

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 **Chapter 0: Prologue Part 3**

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Mirai's POV:

Hello, my name is Mirai Tohsaka, I'm either 18 or 19 years old, and this is my story. Ah, but before we get into the main story, allow me to tell you, about my past, about who I truly am. Again, my name is Mirai Tohsaka, and this is my story.

* * *

Flashback: years ago…

When I was small, I was an orphan, who found myself lost in the world, without even knowing who my birth parents were, and who knew nothing about the world and myself. I didn't even have a name back then. All I knew was that I was found as a toddler, wondering the world alone without knowing who I was nor what my name was, and I was taken in to the orphanage where I grew a couple of years of my life there, and all I knew…was that I had special eyes, eyes that could allow me to see, both the future and the past, whether it is a person or a certain event, anything that had happened or will happen. My eyes shine the color of bright blue whenever I foresee the future, and then it becomes the color of bright red whenever I foresee the past. It was…a gift that I had for a very long time. However, it was also a curse that I carry with me throughout my days, because even if it was something that I could use to my advantage or to change the fate of someone or an event, I cannot use it too much or I may never stop myself from using it, and it would only cause whatever harm to whoever those are around me. Just like any good things that could happen involving my eyes for positive influence; all such as love, comfort, joy, admiration, happiness, hope, any of those positive things that could possibly happen, anything that involves my eyes can also lead to any negative influence; all such as hate, pain, envy, sorrow, fear, any of those negative things could possibly happen. And so, I kept quiet to myself about my powers, about my gift to see the past and the future.

As I was growing up in the orphanage, I slowly but surely learned how to control the powers of my eyes, to master its power to see the past and foresee the future. I first started from my peers at the orphanage, to the nuns that cared for us, to the priest that teaches us about God, to what would become of the church and the orphanage. I even learned how to see the past, from the history of Japan, to the time the orphanage was made, to when the kids my age were born, to how we came here now. Before I knew it, using the power of my eyes became natural for me, as if it using its power became second nature. However, it was not something that I could celebrate about, because I saw what would become of the church one day. What I saw…was a horrifying fate.

Through my eyes, I saw that one day, a few short months from now in the future, the orphanage will fall to ruin and that everyone, including me, will fall into an unknown deadly disease that was incurable and everyone will suffer from it, and then one by one, all of us will die from it, with no one to come and help us cure the disease. Then, when it would reach to only a few of us, one of us will lose their sanity and then cause a fire that will burn the ruined orphanage down to the ground, burning everything, and then leading to our deaths. This future that I foresaw horrified me and I knew that I had to get away from that fate. What happened next was that I...I had to run away alone. I couldn't bring myself to save them, because I knew that I couldn't save them from that horrible fate. Even if I did tell them what would become of us one day, no one would believe me. And even if I told them I had the power to see the future, no one would believe that either. And so, I decided to leave the orphanage alone, and I ran away; and I ran, and ran, and ran, and ran…and I never…ever looked back again.

* * *

I didn't know how far I ran away or how long I was running away for, and I didn't know how much time had passed since I ran away, but…one thing was for certain, I was already about to enter…into a new world.

Before I knew it, I found myself in a city called Fuyuki. I was probably either 8 or 9 years old when I came to Fuyuki City, and I was alone, weak, lost, cold, and hungry from running away without having anything to eat. I walked and walked in the streets of the city, searching and hoping to find shelter and something for me to eat. But, there was nothing that I could find there, and people in the city hardy ever noticed my presence walking into the crowd. There was…nothing.

Without any other choice, I found an alley that I could stop and rest for a while. I sat down and closed my tired eyes to rest, not even caring about the fact that I was still hungry. I was really weak and tired from running and walking that I had to rest. How long I had walked, and how much time had passed, I still didn't know. All I wanted to do…was sleep.

Unfortunately, I could not rest well at all, and I was still hungry. But for me to eat, I needed money for me to buy food. I weakly reached out a hand, and I begged the people passing by for money that I needed. I begged, and begged, and begged, and begged, and begged. But, none of those who passed by seemed to notice me nor did they bothered to care to give me money. They just…passed by, and never gave me anything. I was…all alone. It…hurts, so much, so much that I just wanted to die. But then, I felt something in my hand. I weakly looked down to see, and to my surprise and my relieved heart, that there was not just money in my hand, but there was also food for me to eat. I looked up to see an old man who gave me the money and food for me to eat. The old man looked at me and nodded with a smile, signaling me to take the money and eat the food, showing pity and sympathy for me.

Out of joy, I couldn't help but smile at the old man, and bowed to him to show my gratitude. Then, without hesitation, I took the food and quickly eat whatever he gave me. after tasting what he gave me, I couldn't help but smile out of pure joy. I decided to thank the old man again for giving me the food, but when I looked back to see him, he was…already gone. I guess he must've already left after he gave me what I needed, and before I could even thank him. I didn't say anything else anymore, and just continued eating what he had given me. I continued to eat until I was full and fell to sleep again, this time, satisfied.

* * *

The next day, I decided to have the alley be my home. I had already bought new sets of clothes with the money that was given to me, and I decided to find something for a bed that I could sleep on. Then, while I was out looking, I noticed something, something that had caught my eyes that had soon given me an idea on how to make money: Fortune Telling.

I saw a fortune teller give out fortunes to people who came to her to have their fortunes told. I hid myself and decided to watch and listen to the fortune teller. And I watched and listened, the fortune teller spoke to the couples of what their fortunes would be, by saying various words that would leave them hints to their future, and what certain events will occur in their future. Her words that were being given to them…it felt bewitching, yet at the same time, very majestic. I couldn't help but listened to her words further. As I listened to the fortune teller giving them their fortune, I used the power of my eyes and I quickly began to understand the words she was hinting them and what she was telling them. In a few years, the couples would soon be married in another country called France, and they would soon be there for their romantic honeymoon, and then soon after, they would be blessed with children, and would raise them with love and care. As I listened and used my eyes to predict their future, I saw and learned that it was true. The fortune teller was right.

One of the couples, the woman, was very happy and curious about what the words of their fortunes mean and asked the fortune teller to tell them. The fortune teller, however, said no more and said that they must figure out what they mean for themselves, otherwise it will never come true for them. The other one of the couple, the man, didn't seem convinced about their fortune so he just joked about it, saying he doesn't believe in fortune telling and that fortune telling is fake. After that, the couples paid the fortune teller and left.

Honestly, I didn't care about what would happen to the soon to be married couples anymore, because I already knew what fate would have in store for them, and that their future will come true. I was inspired by the fortune telling itself, and how someone would be able to predict what would happen to them, despite fortune telling being fake. Then, that's when an idea hit me. With the power of my eyes to predict the future, I can use it to predict the future or any possibilities of the future of other people and use it as a means of fortune telling. What's more, I could make money for myself so that even on the streets I would be able to live and survive. And so, I decided to that and came up with a plan.

I first started with finding a small table, fit for my size, as it was being thrown away to trash. It looked old, but it was stable enough to hold, so I took that small table with me and brought it back to my home. Next, I looked for and found two cushions, both old and used, one that was small for the table, while the other that was big for me to sit on. Then, I looked for something for people to place money in for me to take, and I found an old large bowl, big enough for me to place as much money as it could fill in, and so I took it. And finally, I would look for a crystal ball, as a means of using it for fortune telling, because the fortune teller earlier was using a crystal ball. I had found the crystal ball that was about to be thrown away by a shopkeeper, who was working at a jewelry shop. I thought that he had no need for it, and so I decided to approach the man and take the crystal ball.

I approached the shopper and spoke to him, "U-Um…excuse me."

The shopkeeper turned around to show his appearance. The man was slightly older and had short blonde hair and green eyes, and under the apron he was wearing an orange shirt and long khaki pants and black shoes. He also had a ring on his ring finger, hinting that he was married.

The shopkeeper noticed me and smiled to me as he said, "Oh! Well, hello there, little cute one. I've never seen you around before in this part of Fuyuki. What're you doing around here?"

"Well," I said, shyly, "I-I see that…um…that you're throwing away this crystal ball, and I thought…that m-maybe you didn't need it anymore…uh, and I…well, uh…I thought…that maybe I could take it from you. So, uh…c-can I…have it?"

The shopkeeper was surprised at first at what I had told him, but he soon nodded and seemed satisfied with what I asked him. He then knelt down to me and began to hand me the crystal ball, saying kindly to me, "You want this, yes? Go ahead, take it. I've no need of this anymore, anyway."

"R-Really?" I asked, "I can have it?"

"Of course, little one." he smiled, "And don't worry, I won't charge you or anything. I was going to have it taken off my hands anyway, since no one here was eager to buy it from me."

After hearing that, I smiled and happily took the ball off his hands and to take it with me. I looked at the shopkeeper and bowed to him, saying kindly, "Thank you, sir!"

The shopkeeper nodded at me with a smile, before he stood up to turn around and leave, going back to his shop to go back to his work. I watched him leave as I waved goodbye to him, before I decided to go back home to do the work.

* * *

I had everything for fortune telling prepared. I had the crystal ball on the small cushion all on top of the table, the bowl for the money on my right side for people to place in, and the big cushion for me to sit on. Now, I was completely ready for fortune telling. I sit back and waited for someone to approach me and ask for their fortune.

However, no one around seemed to notice me and were just walking and passing by, minding their own business. But, I remained patient, and continued waiting and waiting for someone to come by me as ask for their fortune. I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, all the way until I fell asleep. I didn't know how long I fell asleep, but eventually I woke up from someone patting me on the back, surprising me and I yelped a little. I then looked to see who woke me up, and to my surprise, it was the same shopkeeper from before, but this time, he was wearing casual clothing and he was with someone, a woman, both of them were smiling at me.

The woman was, just like the man, slightly older, about the same age as him, and she had long wavy orange hair and hazel eyes, and was wearing a red silky dress with a pink silky sweater and matching pink shoes. She also had a ring on her ringer finger, a ring that matches with the shopkeeper's, hinting that they were both married to each other.

"Hey there, little one." he smiled, "Sorry if we startled you, but you were sleeping in the middle of an alley way here."

"O-Oh." I said, slightly embarrassed, "S-Sorry."

"Aww, aren't you adorable." the woman smiled, "Oh! What's this? Are you perhaps doing fortune telling?"

"Uh…yes." I said, "Uh…I-I'm trying to do fortune telling to make money. I thought that this might help me make a living, so…"

"I see." said the woman.

"But…I didn't get anyone to have their fortunes being told by me…" I said, disappointed, "No one wants me to have their fortunes taken…"

I looked down, being sad, not looking at them anymore. I began to think that maybe this wasn't a good idea to make money for me to survive, and that I would be forever unlucky. That was until, I heard the man spoke to me.

"Well, you do now, little miss." The man said to me, as I looked up at them surprised. They were both smiling at me as they both knelt down and looked at me, before the man said, "I'd like to have my fortune told, please."

Hearing him said that made me smile and I happily nodded. Then, I began to calm down and began to close my eyes as I focused. And then, as I slowly opened my eyes, they began to glow bright blue as I activated the powers of my eyes, and began to foresee their future.

Through my eyes, I saw that the shopkeeper, three days from now, will be having a baby with the woman with him, and they would tell all of their friends and loved ones about the child that they would be having, and everyone would be very joyful about the news. There was, however, one problem that would soon break them apart from that joy. Another man, dressed in black clothing and blue pants, did not seemed happy about the news about them having a child. Rather, he showed disgust, bitterness, and jealousy towards them, specifically the very shopkeeper that made the woman pregnant. Then I saw that within the next three days, after proposing that they were having a child, that same man did something that would ruin the both of them.

He…murdered the shopkeeper in front of his pregnant lover, who was horrified from what she just saw, until that horrible man then…took her child away from her, killing it. And then…did the things that I couldn't explain as a child. After seeing what I just saw in their future, I knew that I needed to warn them. But I knew that warning them what I just saw wouldn't be called fortune telling, so I decided to warn them through the words of fortune.

I stopped using my eyes and I cleared my throat, and then asked them, "Mister, miss, your fortunes will now be told. Are you ready?"

They nodded to me, telling me that they were ready.

After receiving their answers, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then I opened them and said, "Within the day of the third, a miracle for a special life will be given to you, bringing you the joy beyond imagination. Throughout your joy, you will bring words to the closest of your lives, and all will give you both their blessings and joy of your words of the miracle you received." The two of them became very curious and happy about what I was telling them, before I continued, giving them a warning, "However, there is but one that will become the fall of your joy and blessing. Among them will be a black figure that will take away your happiness out of spite and wants to take away one of you both for personal gain and desires. In the next following days of the third, the black figure will take your happiness by doing the very things that will be very unspeakable to all." I then looked at them and said to him sadly, "And it begins with one of you, the one the figure will be the most envious of."

The couples looked at each other out of concern, thinking that whatever I was saying was not a good omen, before they looked back to me and the man asked, "W-What do you mean? And…what do we do?"

I shook my head and said sadly, "I can't tell you what I mean about my words, and I can't tell you how to avoid it. No matter what you do, you can't avoid that fate."

Before I could say any more, I closed eyes before I activated my powers again to look for any possibilities to stop it from happening. Why did I choose to do that? The answer was obvious; to save them from their fate and protect their happiness. Through my eyes, I saw and found a solution for them to prevent it. The answer, was to have a guardian, a protector, someone who they could trust to prevent them from their fate. That was when I knew that this person would be the key helping them.

I closed my eyes again before I looked at them with a smile and said, "There is, however, one way to prevent such a fate."

This caught their attention as I continued, "A key to safeguard your future, one that will prevent the inevitable fate. A guardian that can be well trusted and protect any one of you from harm. Only the one that is closest to you that more trusted than all can safeguard the future of yours. This guardian will be the key to bring you happiness."

The couples looked at each other, processing what I had told them, before they looked back at me and smiled. The man saying, "Thank you, little one."

"I think we know what to do." said the woman.

The man takes out his wallet hand brought out his money, placing it in the bowl, before he smiled and said, "This one's for you. I truly hope whatever words you say are true." Then, as he and the woman began to leave, they waved goodbye to me, leaving me all alone and me hoping that the words I say to them would help them. Normally, after receiving enough yen to buy, I would go out to buy some food for me to eat, but…I didn't feel like it, and so, I just rested my head on the table and fell to sleep.

* * *

The rest of the following days were…tiresome. There were only a few who passed by and had their fortunes told by me and only one of them just gave me little yen, perhaps because they showed very little interest in me. While there were several who didn't want their fortunes told and just gave me money out of pity for me being out on the streets. But that was not what I was worried about. I was still worried about the shopkeeper and his wife, and still hoping that my words had reached them, because even though I knew my words would give them some hint, it bothers me, and I feared that they may not have gotten my message. I just couldn't get the thought of something wrong happened out of my mind, hence I felt somewhat less motivated and insecure of whether I did the right thing or not. After what was considered a tiresome day, I decided to turn myself in for the night, with a bed mattress that I had recently found over the week.

* * *

The next day, I woke up from the sun shining down on me, and I groggily opened my eyes from the light shining down on me. Once I did, however, there was one thing that I noticed and felt. It felt soft and warm. When I looked at what it was, I was surprised at what I saw it was; a blanket that was covering me and keeping me warm. And then I noticed that while I was sleeping; I was laying my head on something else that was soft; a big soft pillow. I was actually rather surprised that I jumped out of my bed and looked at both the blanket and the pillow, expressing shock to what was given to me. I didn't know who gave these two things to me, I just…I just didn't know what to think. But then, I realized that what if…what if…

I quickly got up from the floor and hurriedly walked out to see who it was outside today to see me. And when I stopped to look, I was surprised and happy for who I was seeing again for a while. It was the same couples that I had gave their fortunes and told them about their future. They were outside, waiting for me to see them. As I began to slow down and slowly approach them, I couldn't help but smile back at them as they were smiling at me. The woman was rubbing her belly, hinting that although it hasn't been shown any signs yet, she was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. I…I did it. I actually did it! I changed their fate!

As soon as I came close to them, they both knelt down to look at me by my height and to speak to me, both of them smiling at me. The woman placed her hand on my shoulder and said to me, "Thank you."

Before I could ask for why they were thanking me, the man answered, "For saving us. For saving our child."

My eyes widened when they said that to me, before I said, "But…I didn't do anything."

"That's not true." the woman said, "You told us what would happen with our lives in the future and told us what could've happened to me if we didn't have someone with us."

"I…I did?" I asked.

"Yes." she smiled, "After we announced that I'm pregnant to our friends and loved ones, I asked my older brother to be there with us as our bodyguard."

"After we told him what we would feared might happen to us, he agreed to help and protect us." the man explained, "And thanks to him protecting us, we found out who would be coming after us. It turns out it was an old friend of mine from when we were in high school."

"That's right." said the woman, "He was a very close friend of my husband, but…they had broken off with each other since the day we became a couple and graduated together, and then got married after a few years. I think the reason why he tried to attack us is because he was in love with me before I became a couple with my husband, and he resented us ever since."

"Yes." said the man, "Since the day we'd broken off with one another, he wasn't the same man since then, and he was being mentally distraught about us being together. Even now, he hadn't gotten over it."

"But, thanks to you telling us what would happen, my brother managed to put a stop to him and took him to the police where he'd be kept in prison." said the woman, happily, "And now me and my husband will be able to have a happy future together with our child. In a sense, you saved us."

Before I could say anything, they both hugged me out of gratitude and whispering 'thank you' to me, much to my surprise. To be honest, I never thought that I, a little street orphaned child with magical eyes, would be shown any sorts of gratitude by people. But, at the same time and deep down inside, I was happy that I was able to do something, and my eyes would be able to be put up to good use for people. With my eyes, I would be able to change people's fate.

After all of the moments that happened today, we decided to part ways. They told me that they were moving away from Fuyuki to live in another town to have a new and happy life with their soon-to-be newborn child. It was saddening to see them go, but…I had to let them leave. I had already done enough to make them happy, and I had done enough to change their fate. But, before they began to leave, the man asked me, "Oh, that's right! Little girl, what's your name?"

When he asked me that, the thought came to me. Until now, I didn't have a name, not one that I could make for myself, nor did I even thought of having a name. Not even in the orphanage that I used to live in did I ever had a name for myself. I guess I never even had a thought of giving myself a name until now. it was…somewhat unnatural for me. The reason being is naturally, it's the parents' duty to name their child, for giving names to a child is important for them, and even I knew that simple fact. However, I didn't have any parents, and therefore I didn't have a name that I could use. That was what I mean by unnatural. I…just couldn't come up with a name for myself.

But then, one thought suddenly came to me. My magical eyes, eyes that can see the past and the future. My eyes, the future. The name for myself came to me from my eyes, an ideal name that I would use for myself. Then, I spoke the name that I would call myself. That was when I became known as, "Mirai."

"Hmm?" they said, as if they didn't hear me.

"My name…is Mirai." I said my name again, "That is who I am."

"Mirai…" the woman repeated, before she smiled and said, "Well, that's a wonderful name. Nice to meet you, Mirai."

"Yes." the man nodded, "I think that name suits you well. Nice to meet you, Mirai."

I bowed to them and said, "Y-Yes, it's nice to meet you. And…thank you."

Then, they brought out their hands to me as a means to shake their hands to me, and both said to me with a warm smile, "Mirai, we'll be having a happy future thanks to you. Thank you for everything you've done for us, Mirai."

"And just like your name," said the woman, "We hope that you too, will have a happy future."

"And we hope that somewhere out there," said the man, "There will be a beautiful future where you can be happy and be proud of."

Hearing those words said to me, I couldn't help but smile back at them, and happily shook their hands together. After that, we said our goodbyes and parted ways, and I return to my 'lovely home' to continue my work.

* * *

Over the next following weeks, there were more people that were coming to me to have their fortunes told. Most were teenagers from school, while some were adults that were passing by. For the high school kids, apparently, they'd heard rumors about me about given people fortunes with the power of my magical eyes and were very curious if what the rumors about me were said to be true. Half of them wanted to believe it and see if it was true, while the other half was not and wanted to prove them wrong. As for the adults, they came to me just to want to know what might happen to them to day, while a few just wanted something to relieve their stressful days. And as for myself, I have been doing very good in giving people their fortunes, giving them mysterious lines and clues as for them to figure out what may happen to them in the future. While doing so, I had also been making enough money for myself for me to live. Doing this for people who comes to me to them about their future and any possibilities of their fate, and earning for myself, truly makes me happy. Partly because I had money so that I could survive in the streets. Mainly because with my eyes, I could at least help the people who wish to know what will become of them and make any people happy. It was…a life that…I cherished.

One day, while I was out to buy myself some food, I found someone in the middle of the streets. That was when I met Sayaka Tsukuda, a street orphan like me. just like how I was before, she was cold, weak, and hungry, wearing nothing but ragged clothes and was walking barefooted. From the looks in her eyes, she was scared and lost, and I could tell she didn't know where to go in this big city. I couldn't bear to see her like this, so I quickly ordered and bought whatever food I could find at the store and I quickly came to her aid. By the time I got to her, she had already passed out from exhaustion.

Luckily, I was able to carry her back to my home and laid her down in my bed for her to rest. As soon as she woke up, I had already given her something to eat, and as soon as she saw food, she quickly took it and began eating. I was glad that I found her in the middle of the streets and I was able to save her, otherwise she would've starved to death. Once she was done eating, she looked at me with a questionable look on her face, before she slowly opened her mouth to speak.

"W-Who…who are you?" she asked.

I simply smiled to her and said, "Mirai. My name's Mirai, and I'm a street orphan, just like you. And you are?"

She was quiet for a moment, before she said her name, "Sayaka. Sayaka Tsukuda."

After we introduced ourselves, we told each other how we both became street orphans. I was the first to explain my story before Sayaka. After I explained my story, she explained to me hers. Before she was left as an orphan, she used to live with and traveled with her father, who was a veteran medical doctor for the wars that was going on around the world. Originally, she was born in Japan, but due to her father's work, she was forced to travel around the world with him. She never went to any schools, and she never had any fun as a child she is. All throughout her childhood, all she had seen were fighting and sickness that was going on in the war. They were…things that even she couldn't explain it herself. Eventually, though, her father decided to retire and both of them returned to Japan to live and have a normal life, and Sayaka could finally go to school and make friends, something she never could during her travels. Unfortunately, that time for her…never came. One day, there was a giant earthquake that happened which caused a giant flood to occur, and her father was caught in the middle of it, and along with everyone else caught in it…he died. Sayaka was the only one of the survivors who had survived, as she was the only one that was never caught in an earthquake and the flood. All that was left of her father…was a gun, a pistol that he had carried during their travels, a memento that he left for her to carry. With nowhere else to go, she walked away from what had happened without turning back, and she kept on going, walking and walking, never stopping until eventually she found herself in Fuyuki.

Through my eyes, I could see her past and I knew she was telling the truth, and I could tell that she was just like me. We're both children who ran away from what had happened or what could have happened to our lives, and we both have nowhere else to go to. Seeing that we both are orphaned children, and that we could rely on each other, I though and decided that we could stick together, to survive the harsh reality in front of us.

"Let's stick together." I said, "We'll stay together until the very end. That way, we don't have to worry about anything else."

"M-Mirai…san…?" said Sayaka, surprised.

I smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sayaka. As long as you stay with me, you'll have as much as you need to survive, and you'll never have to be hungry or alone again."

"Mirai…san…" said Sayaka, "Thank you…Mirai-sama…"

And that was how Sayaka Tsukuda became the first companion of mine.

* * *

The next following days, we found someone trying to steal our money from people wanting to have their fortunes taken. Another street orphan around the streets, trying to survive. Luckily, me and Sayaka managed to catch up to her until she was cornered in another alley. That was when we met Hiroko Ishikawa. Just like us, she was a street orphan, wearing nothing but ragged clothes and barefooted, but there were some differences; she was carrying what looks to be a sword, had multiple bruises around her body, hinting that she had been into fights before, and had a look of a cold and distrusting face, hinting that she didn't show any trust to anyone. Seeing that, me and Sayaka had to be cautious and approach her peacefully.

"What?!" she said, angrily, "Who're you?! What're ya looking at?!"

"Please, calm down." I said, calmly, to assure her we were not hostile, "It's okay. We won't hurt you. We're just here for our money back. Please, put the bowl down and come to us peacefully."

"No!" she said, still being stubborn, "I'd rather run and die!"

"We're not going to hurt you." I said, assuring her, "We're friendly, we won't do anything to hurt you. We're street orphans just like you."

"You don't have to worry." said Sayaka, "We won't do anything bad."

"Liars!" Hiroko shouted, angrily, "You're just saying that so you could trick me and then turn me in, just like everyone else! Well, I'm not falling for it again! Especially not from you!"

Sayaka was about to retort and run up to her, but I held my arms up to stop her and shook my head no. Sayaka saw this and obediently stopped herself and stood there. I then turned back to Hiroko, who still had a look of anger and distrust, and slowly, I began to approach her. I walked up to her until I was where she was pointing the sword at; my chest where my heart is. When I was approaching her, her expression changed from anger to somewhat scared. We stood there, completely silent, letting ourselves look at each other in the eyes for a few moments. Then, I activated my powers and looked into her past, much to her surprise.

Through my eyes, I saw that Hiroko was born in prison, and she was raised by her birth mother, who was a yakuza, a member of a Japanese gang; or rather, a now former member of the gang. Hiroko's mother was arrested by the police for robbery and murder of six innocent bystanders at the harbor, trying to run away by a ship along with other gang members, leading this group was Hiroko's father before she was born. Hiroko's mother, after having killed these six people who happened to be a group of family, grew disgusted by her and her gang's own antics and allowed herself to be arrested, not wanting to be any part of what the yakuza was doing anymore, and allowed the others to escape. Her mother, at the time, was pregnant with Hiroko, so she was unable to catch up with the other yakuza anymore, and didn't want to risk hurting Hiroko, hence she was caught and arrested. By the time of her trial was made and was sentenced to prison, Hiroko's mother gave birth to her. After giving birth to Hiroko and seeing her as a baby, her mother was happy and she had changed, from being a gang member to a loving caring mother. However, due to the fact that prison was not a good environment for children, they needed to have someone take Hiroko somewhere safe and care for Hiroko in her mother's stead. Unfortunately, her mother had no other relatives to help take care of her child, and she had already cut ties with the yakuza since she knows that the yakuza gang was not good for Hiroko. Luckily, however, there was a police member that was in charge of Hiroko's mother that was willing to take Hiroko and care for her in her stead, and would have Hiroko visit her mother whenever she wanted, putting relief for Hiroko's mother. Years later, Hiroko, now a grown-up child, came to visit her mother and really excited to see her, because she heard from the officer that was caring for her that her mother was going to be released from prison to allow her to go back to Hiroko to take care of her. Unfortunately, a break out happened, and chaos broke loose at prison. The cause of it was the yakuza, led by the same leader, her father, who along with others, were attacking and killing people there as they were all looking for her mother because she betrayed the society and wanted to kill her for her betrayal. Hiroko's mother, having to have luckily escaped, told Hiroko to run away from here, as if they find Hiroko, they would kill her as well, even if none of them knew of her existence. Her mother, before she would have her child run away, gave Hiroko her sword, a memento for safe keeping. With all of the chaos and confusion that was going on, Hiroko ran away from prison, scared because she didn't want to die, and crying because she had to separate from her mother. Over the next following few years, Hiroko, having now become a street orphan, spent following years trying to find food and shelter along with others, by stealing and robbing stores and markets. During those times, however, she was always turned on and betrayed by the street orphans and was taken in for stealing. Every street orphan she goes to, and when tasked to steal some things, she would always get stabbed in the back. Ever since, she grew cold, distant, and distrusting to those who would use her and then turn her in. Those days became her very rough and difficult childhood.

After I saw her past, I closed my eyes and then opened them again, to show my normal eyes to her, much to her shock and surprise.

"W-Wha…w-what did you do…?" Hiroko asked, nervously.

I simply smiled and said, "I looked and saw your past. I saw everything that happened to you in your past."

Hiroko gasped at what I just told her, her face full of shock.

"That's why you don't trust people who takes you in." I said, "I know how you feel, losing a parent and being used as a means to be taken in and be blamed all your life. But, me and Sayaka are not like those people at all. We would never do anything like that to you."

This made Hiroko slowly lower her weapon until it touched the floor, to look at me in pure astonishment, both from what I did and what I was telling her, before she asked me, "Who…what are you?"

"My name is Mirai." I said, "And I am someone who has the power to see the people and the events, both the past and the future, just as I have seen your past. My eyes allow me to see just about everything. It's both a gift and a curse that I carry all my life."

"And I'm Sayaka Tsukuda." said Sayaka, "I was a lost street orphan just like you before Mirai-sama took me in. And you are?"

Hiroko was quiet for a moment as she was looking at us both to see if we were trusting enough. After a few moments, she said, "Hiroko. Hiroko Ishikawa."

"Hiroko." I said, "A wonderful name. Tell me, do you want to be taken in and be one of us? We would like to have someone like you on our side."

This surprised Hiroko for a moment before she asked, "Can…can I trust you?"

"Of course." I smiled.

"You won't betray me and turn me in?" she asked.

"We won't." I said.

"Then…will you…give me purpose, if you take me in?" she asked.

"You wish to have a reason to live?" I asked.

Hiroko nodded, and I understood what she meant.

I nodded back and said, "Yes, we will give you a purpose, a reason for living. So, that's why…come with us, Hiroko."

Hearing my words to be true, Hiroko dropped her sword and the bowl of yen, and her face had tears in her eyes, hinting that she was happy, believing and knowing that there was someone who she could trust and someone who could give her a reason for living. Before she knew it, she broke down crying, and me and Sayaka went to embrace her to comfort her, as she repeatedly cried out while sobbing, "Thank you."

And that was how Hiroko Ishikawa became the second companion of mine.

* * *

Another following days later, as we went to buy clothes, we found another street orphan that was sitting there at the corner of another alleyway, appearing to be crying. We went to go see who it was and to see if we could do something to help her. That was when we met Aimi Shimizu, another street orphan like us. However, judging from her clothes that were yet to be ragged, she appeared to have been left recently. As we came closer to her, she took notice of us and suddenly became frightened and tried to back away while crawling backwards to avoid being close to us.

I stopped her before she could even try to run away and said reassuringly, "It's okay! We're not going to hurt you! Don't worry, we're friends."

After hearing my words of reassurance, she managed to calm down a bit before she asked, "Y-You're…you're not gonna hurt me?"

"Of course not." I said, "In fact, we're here to help you."

This shocked her a little before she said, "H-Help me…?"

I nodded with a smile before I turned to Sayaka and Hiroko and said to them, "You two, go back to our home and do what I tell you. Sayaka, get her something to eat. Hiroko, get her something to keep her warm. We're taking her back to our home."

"Yes." they both said and went to do what I said to them.

I then turned back to Aimi and said with a smile, "Don't worry. We're going to take you home soon. You're in good hands with us."

Later, after we managed to get her back to our home, Sayaka giving her something to eat, and Hiroko giving her something to keep her warm, and after making her feel at home, we began to introduce ourselves.

"My name is Mirai." I said, "And these two are my friends, Sayaka and Hiroko."

"Hi there." Sayaka smiled, "I'm Sayaka Tsukuda."

"Hello." said Hiroko, "I'm Hiroko Ishikawa."

With every introduction we made, Aimi nodded in acknowledgement of who we are.

"And you are?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment before she was quietly muttering to herself as if she was thinking for a bit, before finally saying, "Aimi. Aimi Shimizu."

"Aimi." I said, "It's very nice to meet you. So, can you tell us, how did you end up out on the streets? From the looks of what happened and looking like this, you appeared to have been left recently."

Aimi nodded as if she was like an obedient child and said, "Yes. I'll explain what happened to me. You see…"

Aimi explained to us that her stepfather, who at the time had married her recently divorced mother, threw her away because in his eyes, she was an impure and imperfect child made by another man who was her father. Aimi, however, at the time when she was still small, never truly knew who her birth father was and only learned from her mother what her father was like. From her mother, she learned that her father was a good man who truly loved and cared for her mother, and that they met when they were young adults. There was one problem for both of them, though. It was their status. Her father came from the common family, while her mother came from the rich and noble family. While the family of her father approved of their relationship, the rich and noble family of her mother did not. However, despite this, both of her parents decided that they should fall in love and marry each other anyway, because deep down, they know that thy loved each other very dearly and knew that one of them would never harm the other. Her father's family, in secret, arranged for them a marriage ceremony, and in secret, both her mother and father married each other and, in their eyes, they lived happily ever after. Eventually, they even gave birth to her and they both were happy to have her as their child. Unfortunately, however, their love and marriage did not last long, as her mother's family discovered what her mother was doing and what she had already done and completely disapproved of all of it; their love, their marriage, having Aimi, all of it. Soon, this led to a heated argument, both for her father and his family against her mother's family, arguing about their current love and marriage. Unfortunately, her mother's family had ultimately won in the argument and this led to both of her parents to forcefully divorced each other. Her mother, however, kept Aimi with her because she still wanted to be a loving mother to her. A condition that she gave to her parents if she agreed to divorce her lover, and they agreed to it. At least, for now at that time. Even though they were forced to divorce, her father made a promise to her mother that someday, he will win her back, and the next time he does so, he will be a better man. This made her mother happy, and said that she would for the day when that happens, with Aimi waiting along with her. After that, her father left her mother with Aimi at her mother's arms. While waiting, her mother taught Aimi how to be polite and obedient to her mother and her family, and taught her how to be a very good girl towards people, and to be a very good worker when doing work for people. During those times, it went perfectly well for them, as her mother's family comes to like her for being a good and obedient child, and for working very hard for her family; they even allowed Aimi to work as one of the maids in the house, and Aimi took happiness and pleasure for working for her mother's family. Unfortunately, as years go by, that day for her father to return to them never came for both Aimi and her mother, and her mother had already remarried her new suitor that was arranged by her family. After they remarried, her new father, her stepfather, ultimately told Aimi to get out of their house, as she was no longer needed into their family. This ultimately shocked Aimi and her mother completely. Her mother, who still loved her daughter, tried to reason with her new husband and told him that she and her family still needed her daughter, as she had already become a part of their family and that everyone loved her very dearly. Unfortunately, however, her stepfather did not approve of Aimi and did not completely acknowledged her as his daughter and had already requested to her mother's parents that Aimi should be thrown away. This completely shocked her mother, as she realizes that even though Aimi did everything she could for her family, her mother's family never truly saw her as part of their family. Aimi had realized that as well and, even if she continued to work for her mother's family, they would never accept her as one of their own, as Aimi didn't come from anyone who was her mother's suitors, but her father, who in their eyes, was a tainted man, making Aimi herself being a tainted child. However, Aimi, being an obedient child as she is, accepted that she'd be thrown away from this family, as she saw that this family had no use for her anymore, accepting her fate. This completely shocked and broken her mother entirely, as she realized what her daughter had done, and realized what her mother had done, and what she made her completely into and what Aimi had become; an obedient child who will obey any orders from her family or anyone else without ever even showing any signs of being selfish for herself or any signs of showing any sense of self, just like a machine. Realizing this, her mother broke down crying in tears of pain and repeatedly apologizing to her daughter in what she made her to become, even embracing her and crying onto her shoulders while repeatedly apologizing to her in her ears. Eventually, they already threw Aimi out of the house and into the streets, leaving her all alone. The reason that she was crying when we found her at the alley…was because she then broke down in tears as there was one thing that she regretted that she did; leaving her mother all alone. The only thing that she had left to remember her was the two wedding rings that both of their parents had when they were still married to each other.

I used the power of my eyes to foresee her past to see if her story was true. And…sadly, it was true. Me, Sayaka, and Hiroko, couldn't help but feel pity for Aimi, because she was obeying what people say to her without question, and people like her family were taking advantage of that. Aimi, having finally told her story, began to cry, tears of sadness pouring down from her eyes and dripping down from her face.

"Why…?" Aimi sobbed, "Why did this happened to me…? Was I…not good enough…to be a part of that family…? Was I…not obedient enough…? Was I not being…a very good girl to them…like my mother told me to be…? Why…?"

I couldn't stand watching her cry, seeing her like this made me feel sad for her. I went and hugged her to give her comfort. I then whispered, "None of it was your fault. You just didn't know what would happen sooner or later. Your mother didn't know. And if we were there, none of us would've known either. So please, don't blame yourself."

I rubbed the back of her head to calm her down as she was still crying from sadness. Then, Sayaka and Hiroko hugged her together along with me, to show signs of their comfort for her.

Then, Aimi said to herself between sobs, "I…I have…I have nobody…I don't have…a family…anymore…no mom…no dad…no friends…nobody…I don't have a…a family anymore…I don't…I don't know what to do…"

Seeing her say those words, I stopped hugging her to look at her and said, "No, that's not true!" This shocked her a bit as she looked at me with tearstained eyes, wondering what I mean. I then continued, "You do have a family. You do have a family that will accept you. You do have a family that will accept you being obedient. You do have a family that will see you as a good girl. You do have a family that will love you. And as of right now, you have a new family." With every word that I said to her, her eyes began to slowly widen of shock and astonishment. Then, I said to her finally, with my arms out to show Sayaka and Hiroko and a smile on my face, "WE are your family now!"

Hearing my final words to her, Aimi began to cry again, not from sadness anymore, but from sheer joy. Sayaka and Hiroko then approached her as they placed their hands, Sayaka on her left, and Hiroko on her right, on her shoulders as they wanted to say something to her as well. Aimi looked at the two of them for a moment before turning to Sayaka, who was the first to speak.

"You should come with us, Aimi." said Sayaka, "If we stay together, and if we follow Mirai-sama together, then we will never have to be scared, hungry, or alone ever again."

Aimi then turned to Hiroko, who was the next to speak.

"Come with us," said Hiroko, "And Mirai-sama will give you a reason to live, a purpose in your life. Just as she had given us reasons and purposes for us to live by."

Aimi looked at them both for a few moments, before she asked, "Are you sure?"

They both nodded to her and both of them said, "We believe Mirai-sama has the power to give us new hopes. And if we stay together, we won't have to suffer anymore, and we will be okay."

I then came up to Aimi with my hand out for her to take, and said to her with a smile on my face, "Aimi, come with us. Come with me. We can be together forever, and you can be obedient as much as you want."

"Will you…really accept me?" she asked, and I nodded. Then, without hesitating, she held my hand and I grabbed on to her tightly, and then two hands, both Sayaka's and Hiroko's, were placed on top of mine and Aimi's, symbolizing that we are together now, forever. Aimi saw this and smiled to us and nodded. As did Hiroko, and then Sayaka, and finally, me. Then, we hugged each other, and as we continued hugging, Aimi whispered happily, "Thank you, Mirai-sama."

And that was how Aimi Shimizu became the third and final companion of mine.

And that was how we all came together, not just as companions, or friends, but also as family. That was how we became, one group.

* * *

I'm not sure how long it had been since we became a group, but I imagined that it was around 2 years now since that day, and during those times, we stayed together, we comforted each other, we ate together, we laughed together, we did things together; basically, we stayed together thick and thin. I was maybe around 10 or 11 years old since those days. It was…the happiest life that we cherished.

Every day was just like any other days. We do fortune telling for people who were passing by the streets and earn money from them, we used money buy food and clothing, we played together, we protected each other, then the next day, we do it again. It went on and on, until eventually we lost counts on how much we've done the same routine. Many people would say that it was boring, but…we didn't, and we didn't care. It was the happiest life that we shared together. Of course, even everyone who came passing by to see us we happy to see us. Not just for fortune telling, but for them to see us smile every day.

* * *

But then one year later, something happened to me.

It was around near the end of Fall, almost to being 2 years, when I was out giving out fortune telling for people with my dearest friends, as many people came by to us as they wanted to know what would happen for them for next year. I already done about 10 people as they left with the fortune words I gave them, there was one more person who was ready. As they sat down and waited for their turn, I activated the power of my eyes to foresee what will happen for them in the future.

But then suddenly, something stopped me, as if something was forced with a powerful pulse, and suddenly, my powers went haywire, and I suddenly froze with a shocked look on my face. What I saw first was the colors of black and white, glitching in my vision, as if what I was seeing was a TV screen being ruined. But then, as the screen fades away, and my vision for what I was seeing became clearer, I became…shocked and terrified to what I was suddenly seeing. And what I saw, through my eyes…it was horrifying. What I was seeing…was the vision of the past, more than 10 years ago.

Through my eyes, I saw…a giant dark hole, something shaped as a black moon, that was up above the night sky, making very eerie sounds of monstrous noises and giving off an aura of darkness and destruction. Then suddenly, something dark and ugly came out of it and began to rain down upon the ground, first flooding the entire stadium, and burning everything inside as if it was hot lava. And then, this black mud-like lava began to come out of that burning stadium and began to spread outside all the way to the forest trees, burning them to flames. And finally, it began to spread and flood throughout the entire part of Fuyuki City, burning anything and everything into flames, destroying everything it touches, and…killing every innocent people that were there but could not escape from it, flooding around them, burning them, and slowly killing them. Through it all, I hear burnings, destructions, and the horrified screams of those people who were suffering and dying. The noises…the screams of pain, the screams of suffering, the screams of them…being in this horrid nightmare. I…I couldn't. I couldn't take it! I couldn't take it anymore!

Suddenly, before I even knew it, I was screaming to myself in pain, from the vision that I was seeing, and from the pain in my head that was hurting. In fact, I was screaming so much that I was probably screaming my lungs out very loudly in front of everyone that was around me, but I didn't bother to notice my surroundings, nor hear out what was going on around me.

"MAKE IT STOOOOPP!" I screamed, so loudly in pain, "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! SOMEBODY, MAKE IT STOOOOOPPP!"

The vision that was still in my eyes was still playing that horrifying event, and so I couldn't even see what was going on with my surroundings, and I still couldn't even hear what people were saying. But, I could at least feel what was touching me. there touches must've meant they were trying to stop me and trying to save me, but what they did was all to no vail. And honestly, I didn't bother with what they were doing, as all I would do was scream at the vision that I was seeing, and the voices of the screams that I was hearing. I was in so much pain so much that I kept screaming in pain and I felt tears coming down from my eyes.

"MAKE IT STOP!" I screamed out again, loudly in pain, "MAKE IT STOP! THE BURNING! THE FIRE! THE VOICES! THE SCREAMS! MAKE IT ALL STOP!"

I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I couldn't take what I was seeing anymore. I couldn't take what was going on with my vision anymore. I just…I just wanted it to stop. And so, I just screamed, to someone, anyone, to help make the vision stop. And then, suddenly, I felt a force of being pushed back and something to force me to be lying down on the ground on my back. And suddenly, I heard a voice, a shout, so faint that I could barely hear it.

"…ey! …at m…!" I heard. It was really faint from all the noises and screams I was hearing in my head.

But then, slowly but surely, the voice was becoming clearer and clearer. And what I heard was…an older woman's voice, shouting at me.

"Look at me!" she shouted loudly for me to hear. And in my vision, a faint face was being shown to me, telling me to look at her, before she screamed, "LOOK AT ME!" And I painfully nodded, to signal her that I was.

"Alright, good!" she said, "Now, listen to me! I'm going to save you, but I need you to do exactly as I say, alright?!"

I nodded painfully again.

"Good! Now then…!" she said, as her face became gone for a minute before it came back and said, "Now, here! Listen to me! I need you to swallow this!"

I felt something that was on my lips, something like glass, and it was small, fit to swallow, before I noticed it was some sort of gemstone.

"Look, I don't have time to explain, but I need you to swallow this!" she said, "Just swallow it, and I'll be able to help you! Don't worry about it, just trust me!"

I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know who that person was, trying to tell me to swallow a gem, but I didn't have any other choice, and I had to trust her and do what she said for me to do. Though painful, I opened my mouth for her to place that gem inside my mouth. As soon as it did, I slowly and painfully swallowed it. And after that, I was breathing rapidly, my vision still seeing that horrid event of the past.

"Okay, good!" she said, "Now, just hold on!"

Before I knew it, I felt her hands being placed on my chest, and I heard her chanting words that was in different languages. Languages that I didn't even understand, nor did I had time to, as the pain was still going on, and the vision was still playing. But then suddenly, as soon as she shouted a final chant, my vision stopped, becoming completely black, and suddenly, I blacked out, letting my conscious to fall.

I didn't know how long I was out for, but when I slowly opened my eyes, I saw that my dearest companions were standing close to me by my side, and when I opened my eyes, they became happy and all of them cried in tears of joy, happy that I came back to them. I looked at my surroundings, and I found myself lying on my bed. And then, a woman came up to us to see me.

The woman appeared to be around her early twenties. She has long black wavy hair and aqua eyes, almost the same eye color as mine. She wears a long red trench coat over her yellow shirt, a black skirt under black stockings, black gloves, and brown boots.

The moment she saw me awake, she had a shocked look on her face, as if by some miracle she actually did something right, that what she did truly saved me. As she was getting closer, the others moved aside to let her pass. Once she was close enough, she knelt down to look at me closer, as she slowly brought her hands closer to my face until she touched them, to feel me.

Then, she asked to confirm something, "H-Hey…a-are you okay?"

I saw this, and I slowly nodded.

Then, she asked, "Can you see me? Can you hear alright? Can you feel anything? Can you think very well? Can…can you move?"

With every question she asked me, I slowly but simply nodded. And when she asked me the last one, I slowly raised my left arm to show her I can move. As I reached my hand up for her to see it before I couldn't reach anymore and about to lose strength, she quickly grabbed hold of it with both of her hands, both were very warm hands.

Then, she asked one final things, "Did I…did I really saved you? Did it…whatever I did for you…worked? Can you tell me?"

When she asked me those questions, even though I didn't know what she did to me for her to save me, I nodded and said weakly, "…Yes. Yes, it worked…"

When I answered those final questions, the woman began to smile, and tears started to fall from the woman's eyes as she too began to cry tears of joy, while holding on tightly to my hands.

"I…I did it…!" she cried between sobs, "Thank god, I did it! You're alive! Thank god, you're really alive!"

Seeing the look on that woman's face, I just…I just couldn't help but smile as well, as my tears started to fall from my eyes as well, and I could even hear my companions were crying happily as well.

"I did it…!" the woman cried, "I actually did it…! I'm…I'm so glad…! I'm so glad I found a sign! I'm so glad I found you! I'm so glad I found someone! I'm so glad I…I saved you…!"

Though I felt a little weak, I felt the urge to speak, to say something in gratitude. And so, I spoke, though very weakly, gaining her attention.

"…ma'am…thank you…" I said, weakly, "Thank you…for saving me…"

The woman saw me smile at her with tears still falling from my eyes, before she smiled back with the mirrored reflection of my face, holding my hands tighter and said, "No…I…I should be thanking you…because of you, I…I was able to do something…to do something right again…to save someone again…because of you…I've been saved…thanks to you…thank you…"

We continued to look at each other with smiles on our faces as tears continue to fall down on our faces, before the woman pulled me in her embrace and I suddenly felt sleepy, and before I knew it, I passed out.

* * *

When I woke up, I found myself in a bed. However, it was not the bed from my home, but it was a different bed; a hospital bed. I slowly got up to look at my surroundings, and here I found myself in a hospital room. The room that I was in appeared to be a room only for one, so I was the only one in this room. I looked to my left and I found my companions, each of them holding onto their respective mementos, standing alongside the woman from before as she was talking to a nurse that was caring for me. The nurse and the woman seemed to be talking to each other about something before they decided to end it.

"I see." said the woman, "No, I understand. Thank you."

After the nurse left, the woman turned around to see me awake, before she found herself a seat and decided to sit down. I could only assume she wanted to talk to me about something.

Once the woman sat down and made herself comfortable, while the rest of my companions stood next to her to listen, she smiled to me and said, "Hello, again. You must be Mirai. It's nice to finally meet you."

"O-Oh, yes." I bowed, somewhat nervously, "Nice to meet you…um…can I ask, why am I in the hospital, and did you take me here?"

The woman nodded and said, "Well, to answer your question, yes, I did. The reason you're bedridden now is because we needed to check to make sure that your completely alright, as we don't know for sure that something about you might've gone wrong. Ah, but don't worry. I already talked to the nurse and she already told me that, as far as the nurses and the doctors were concern, you're all completely fine and you should be able to move in a few days."

"I-I see." I said. But then I remembered our home and quickly asked, "Ah, that's right! Our home! What happened to our home?! Is it okay?! Is it still there?!"

The woman became surprised a little before her expression became sadden and said sadly, "No, I'm afraid not. Moments after I took you to the hospital, everything you had back the alleyway was already gone. The people who knew you said that they didn't think that the alley would be good for you kids anymore, as the alleyway isn't a healthy environment for you to live in."

I was shocked to hear about this news, before I began to look down and become saddened by it.

"I'm sorry." said the woman, "There was nothing I could do to help you keep your home. But, at least I did what I could for you and your friends."

I looked at the woman and nodded before saying, "Yes, thank you…"

The woman nodded with a smile, before she asked, "Mirai, can I ask you something? It regards to you and your eyes."

I was surprised at first before I nodded.

"Well, alright then." said the woman, "Now, based on what your friends told me, you say that your eyes have the power to see both the past and the future, whether it is a person or a certain event, correct?"

I nodded.

"And over the times living in the alley with your friends, you've been using that power to help people who were having problems with their daily lives passing by, by giving them fortune telling, right?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Okay then," she said, "Can you show me?"

I became a little hesitant after what I had experienced, but I nodded. I was slightly traumatized, but that trauma I had experienced wasn't enough to stop me from using my powers. I closed my eyes to concentrate, before I opened my eyes as my eyes shined bright red to foresee this woman's past. After that, I closed my eyes and then reopened them to foresee her future.

After I was done, I closed my eyes and then opened them, revealing my normal eye colors and said, "I saw your past and your future. In the past, you had a mother who was mentally unstable and was in a wheelchair where you had to take care of as a little girl, and you had a funeral for your father as he was killed by someone. And in the future, a few days from now, you will be the one who be taking us in to our new home, if we decided to come with you."

The woman was surprised about what I just did and what I had said to her, before she said, "I see now. You have the Mystic Eyes. The Mystic Eyes of Precognition and Retrocognition."

I was confused by this, so I asked, "Umm…Mystic what?"

Even my companions were confused my this and gave her questionable expressions. The woman stopped for a moment to think about the situation that me and my companions were in. Then, as if a thought came to her, she hit her bottom fist on the palm of her hand and said, "I know!"

Suddenly, we became more confused, before the woman looked at me with a smile and asked, "Mirai, do you wanna learn more about your powers?"

I was completely taken aback by this and asked, "Why do you asked?"

"Well," said the woman, "I wish to help by teaching you about your Mystic Eyes and how to properly use it. And…I want to adopt you, as my daughter."

I gasped, completely shocked with what she was offering me.

"And, of course, while I adopt you, I will also be taking your friends with me, for they can work with and for us."

My companions gasped at what she was offering to them as well.

I asked the woman, "Can you…really do that? Can you adopt me? Can you really bring my friends with me?"

The woman saw what I was thinking and smiled, as she placed both her hands on her hips, and said, "Well, of course! That is, if you want me to. So, I'll give you two options. You can come with me and be taken in by a woman you just met, and I'll be happy to take your friends with us, and with me, you will learn everything that you want to know. Or, you and your friends can be sent to an orphanage where you'll live for the rest of your lives and will learn nothing about what I would teach you. It's your choice. Ah, but don't use your eyes. I want you to think about this on your own, and I want to hear your decision."

I was surprised and completely taken aback by what she said to me and what she was telling me to do. I looked at the would-be mother of mine for a moment before I looked at my companions. They had the looks of wanting me to decide what we should do. Then, I closed my eyes to think about what I should do for a moment, thinking about what I should decide on. And then, I looked at the woman again who was waiting patiently and…I made a huge decision, and I pointed at her, signaling that I decided I wanted to go with her. the woman saw this and smiled happily.

She then hugged me happily and said, "I'm glad! I'm glad you've chose to come with me! To be completely honest, I…I've always wanted to have a daughter, and well…after I saw you, I just decided that I had to pick you! I'm so glad!"

After she let go of me from her embrace, she turned to the other and said, "And of course, I've always wanted to have people who would keep company, with the both of us!"

Hearing what she said, they smiled at her and happily nodded. The woman then went to a bag that she brought with her and said, "Well, then, let's get all of you dressed up right away! I have to make sure that you all get acclimated to your new home as soon as possible."

Before she could continue further, the woman stopped for a moment as if she was reminded of something important, and said, "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot to mention something you kids should know. I must introduce myself and tell you who I really am. And…you should all know that this is and will be an extremely important fact. Now then, are you all ready?"

We pondered what she was about to say for a minute, before we nodded to each other, and looked at the woman and said, "Yes, ma'am."

Hearing this, she said, "Okay, then." She then sighed before she muttered to herself, "Yes. I suppose now is the perfect time as any…" Then, as she turned to us to introduce herself, she said something; something that would soon one day change our lives forever, "Well, kids…my name….is Rin Tohsaka. And, you see…I am a Mage."

And that…was how I was adopted and became known as Mirai Tohsaka. And that…was how our lives changed forever.

* * *

Present day: years later…

I woke up from that memory and got up from my bed. As I robbed my eyes, a door to my room opened, and the one who entered was one of my dearest and long-time companion, now a maid to the Tohsaka household, Aimi Shimizu.

"Mirai Ojou-sama," she smiled, "Breakfast is ready."

"Ah, yes." I smiled back, "Thank you. I'll be there momentarily."

Aimi bowed and left the room closing the door. I then stretched my arms out before I got out of bed to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash myself. As I did so, I had another flashback of my memory.

* * *

Flashback: years ago…

A few days after my adoption and taking me in, we soon arrived at our new home. Rin Tohsaka, who was now my mother, brought us in to our new home, which was a western styled mansion, which almost looked like a haunted house, so much so that it made us feel nervous to be in. Although, we were amazed that my mother was rich if she had a home like that. My mother saw our reactions before she giggled and said, "Don't worry, kids, it's not haunted. Just trust me and come inside, alright?"

Though we were still nervous, we nodded and went inside the house. As she had said, it was not haunted, much to our relief, although the interior of the house, including the furniture, looked like it was covered in white sheets. Mother then led us to the living room where there was a couch and chairs with soft cushions that were around a table, all covered in white cloths. Aimi took one chair that wasn't covered and wished to set it for us to sit down. however, much to our shock, the chair broke into pieces. As though she was responsible, Aimi turned to mother and bowed while saying, "I'm so sorry, ma'am!"

However, mother merely laughed said, "Not your fault. Besides, I should the one who's sorry. This whole place is kinda falling apart since I haven't been home in a while."

"O-Oh." said Aimi, "I see…"

"Like I said, it's not your fault." said mother, "Still, you kids should be careful. Wasn't a joke when I said this place's kinda falling apart."

"Well, why not repair it?" Hiroko asked.

Mother scratched the back of her head and said, "Well, I didn't really see any point before I met you kids. And besides, I don't have any tools to help me work with the repairs. And plus…" She trailed off a bit to see empty wine bottles that were lying on the ground.

"You were…spending on drinking?" I sweatdropped.

"Yeah…" mother sighed, admittedly, "Sorry you have to see those. Anyway, like I said, I don't have any tools to buy for repairs. And even if I did, it could take years for me to fix the house."

"I see." I said, "Well, why not call repairmen to help with that?"

"Well, I could." said mother, "But it would take a while for them to work on repairing the house, and I have to move us somewhere away for a while until they're finish with the house. We don't even know where to go until it's fixed."

"I see." I said.

"Well, actually, there is one place…" said mother, "But…I'm not sure if…I want to go there again…"

I looked at my mother and…she seemed upset about something. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but before I could, she perked back up and said with a smile, "I'll tell you what, kids. I'll call the repairmen to help with repairing the house. Once we have the repairmen arrived, we'll me moving to a hotel until the house is done being fixed. So, until the repairmen arrive, why don't you kids look around the house. And I'll…clean up the wine bottles. And again, be careful. This place is falling apart, so I don't want you kids getting hurt."

"Okay." both Sayaka and Hiroko said, before they left.

"Allow me to help, ma'am." said Aimi, carrying two or three empty wine bottles.

"Ah, thank you, Aimi." said mother, as she proceeded to clean up.

I merely stood where I was and watched mother. She…seemed upset about something before, and I wanted to know what was wrong. So, I decided to wait until they were done and when it was the right time for us to be alone. After a moment of thinking, I decided to help them as well.

After we were done with the cleaning, the others went to sleep since it was already night time, while I alone stayed awake to speak with my mother. She was calling the repairmen on the phone to have them fix the house.

"I see." she said, "Yes. Yes, of course. Yes, I understand. Thank you. Alright, then. Bye."

Once she was done talking and hung up the phone, I came up to her and spoke to get her attention, "Mother?"

She turned to noticed me and said, "Ah, Mirai!"

She knelt down to look at me by my short height and smiled to me, before she said, "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

I shook my head and said, "No, it's not that. I just…wanted to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" she asked, "About what?"

"Well," I said, "When you said you know a place to stay, you…seemed upset about something. Like, something gave you a bad memory. Like, the place you know where to go felt…bad. Is…something wrong?"

Mother looked at me in complete surprise for a moment before her face expression became somewhat grim. She then said, "Well, Mirai, you see…I can't really talk about that…"

"Why?" I asked.

Mother then looked down on the ground with the shadow casting her eyes, expressing that she was sad, and said, "I'm sorry, Mirai, but…um…it's a long story. But…it's also complicated. And…even if I told you what it was, you probably wouldn't understand."

"Then, let me try to understand." I said, "I'm your daughter, aren't I? Let me try to understand. You can trust me."

Mother looked at me again, as I gave her a pleading look and said, "Please."

Mother looked at me for a moment, before she sighed to herself and said, "Well, alright. I'll tell you, but…just so you know, it's…it's a sad story, something that made me hard on myself, and…something that made me quit on myself before I met you. Are you…willing to listen to it?"

"I'll listen." I said, "No matter how sad, I'll listen."

Mother sighed again and said, "Alright. Let's talk about it elsewhere. Come with me."

I nodded and followed her. We entered a study room that had two couches standing on two sides of a table, a staircase which leads to the book shelf upstairs filled with books, and a single desk standing behind the large window. And like the others, all were covered in white cloths.

"Give me a moment." She said as she stopped me, and I obeyed.

She went to one of the couches and carefully removed the cloth, to reveal a nice clean couch. She then began to swipe the couch as if she was moving the dust away. After she was done, she signaled for me to come over. Once I came over, we sat down on the couch together and moved closer to each other. Mother took a deep breath and was the first to speak.

"Well, it happened…a long time ago, and…again, before I met you…" she said, and I nodded.

"I…I had someone I loved once…" she said, "And…we were once very close together…we were lovers…"

"Was he…your husband?" I asked, "Were you married?"

Mother chuckled a little and said, "Something like that, you could say. In fact, we were very close, it felt like we were a married couple. We…stayed together for a long time…a long time…"

Mother looked at me and added with a smile, "In fact, if he was still around, he would've been your father!" But then, as she suddenly gasped with wide eyes, Mother's expression suddenly became saddened as she looked away from me to looked down on the table, as if she was remembering what she had done wrong.

"Mother…" I said, worriedly, "Did…did something bad happened? What happened between you two?"

Mother stayed that way for a moment before she sighed to herself and said sadly, "Well, Mirai, one day…while we were traveling the world…I was pregnant with his child, and he didn't know about it yet. You see, I…wanted it to be a surprise for him when we get back home to Japan. So, I stayed quiet about it, and I did what I could to keep my pregnancy a secret from him." Her face grew sadder as she looked down with shadow covering her still visible eyes and said, "But then…something terrible happened, and…I was…forced to make a difficult decision."

"What happened?" I asked.

Mother stopped for a moment to think about it, before she sighed sadly and said, "Well…one day, we were in Germany, traveling around, and…there was an accident that occurred, and…there were two children who were hurt, a boy and a girl, one that managed to survive and left unharmed while the other was life threatening. My…lover managed to save the boy whose life was more severe, while I managed to put that said boy to sleep, all in order for him to survive, and used whatever magecraft that I could use in order to erase, or maybe even alter his memory, because whatever it was that he saw in his memory, must've had involved magecraft. The girl, however…she was…a small child, the same age as the boy, who only had a few years left to live. Judging from how much wounds the boy had, he must've been protecting her." Mother chuckled a little and said, "That little boy must've really liked her so much, he went as far as to sacrifice himself for her." Then, mother's expression became sadder again and said sadly, "That girl, she…she wanted to live. She wanted to live for the boy who saved her, she…wanted to live and be happy with him. I…I could see it in her eyes that…she wanted to live forever with him, just like me and my lover wanted to be together. She…didn't want to die. Seeing that girl crying for a miracle, I…I just couldn't take seeing that anymore. And so, I…" Mother stopped for a moment to think and remember what she did, before a tear started to fall from her eyes and said, "I did…something that involved magecraft…I did something that I knew…I was going to regret…I…I…" Then, more tears started to fall from her eyes as she began to sob and said, "I sacrificed…my unborn child…in order for her…to live longer…" My eyes widened in complete shock from what she just said to me. I…I had no idea. And suddenly, my mother…began to cry.

Mother began to cry in sadness and pain, and said in between sobs, "The magic…that I…did for her…it…granted her…a longer lasting lifespan…in order…for her…to be able to live…but…the price for…what I did…was…was that I…I…I…" More tears started to fall from her eyes as she continued to cry and said in between sobs, "I…I could no longer…produce offspring…I can…no longer make…another child…" My eyes widened in complete horror from what I was hearing from my mother.

My god. She…can never make another baby again? How could that be? Could she…really no longer make any more children?

"I was…the one who…did the right thing…for those kids…because…they deserved better…" mother said between sobs, "But…at the same time…I did something wrong…I…I did something…that I knew…even if…my lover was…a forgiving person…I knew that…he would never…ever forgive me…for what I did…" Mother covered her face with her arms and knees and continued to cry, and said between sobs, "After I…took those kids…back to their family…I…I…I didn't know…what else to do…I couldn't tell him…I couldn't tell him…what I just did…for those kids…so, I…I panicked…and I…ran away and…I left him…I left him while I ran away back home to Japan…"

"Mother…" I said. I…had no idea.

"After I…ran away…and left him…" she said in between sobs, "I…I swore to myself…that I…I would never…ever use magecraft again…I abandoned the mage world…I abandoned all of my practices…I abandoned everything…about being a mage…and I…I just…I tried…I tried to go back…to my normal…everyday life…but…"

"You couldn't." I answered for her, and she nodded.

Mother wiped away the tears in her eyes and said, "Every night, I have nightmares…about my lover…finding me, and then blaming me, for leaving him, for abandoning him, for not telling him anything, for…everything that I did, to hurt him. And…ever since those nightmares, I would…go out to buy and…drink lots of alcohol, all for me to try to just…forget about it. But…" More tears started to fall from her eyes and she cried again, "No matter how much…I drank…and drank…every time…I try to forget…it just…it just keeps coming back…to haunt me…again…and again…and it just wouldn't stop…no matter how much…I try to drink…and try to forget…that memory…it still haunts me…even now…"

"Mother?" I said, and she stopped to look at me. I asked her, "Did you wanted…to adopt me…because…you feel guilty and you want to…fix what you did in the past? Am I…a replacement for your lost child?"

Mother's eyes widened form what I had asked for a moment, before she wiped away the tears again and smiled at me, before she said, "No, of course not. You're not a replacement."

She then hugged me as she continued, "Well, I admit, it's because I wanted to redeem myself for what I did in the past, but…well, when I heard your cry, I felt the urge that I had to do something. But, I hesitated, because I thought…if I went out there to try and save you, what if I did it wrong, and that what I do to the next person would only make it worse? I just…I just couldn't bring myself to do it at first. But…"

"But?" I asked.

Mother let me go to look at me and said, "When I heard your cries, and I felt there was no other choice, I chose, and I went for it. I knew that I had to save you somehow, so…I decided to use magecraft to do it. Remember the gemstone I told you to swallow and the words that I was chanting when I was saving you?"

"Mm-hmm." I nodded.

"Well," she said, "That…was part of my…no, our family practice of our magecraft. That time, when I said the final chant, and suddenly you passed out, I…I thought…I thought that I suddenly failed again. I felt scared and sad, and terrified that I felt that I was on the brink of shedding tears, thinking that you had died, because of me. But then, you…you woke up."

I nodded again and smiled.

Mother then continued, "When you woke up, I was…shocked to see that you made it, and that you were alive. But then, that shock suddenly became happiness, when you told me that you were okay, and it was all thanks to me and my magecraft. Honestly, I just couldn't believe it. And really, I thought that if you had died because of me, then I would've already given up on magecraft, and myself. More so enough…for me to even commit suicide. But, you…you were alive, and you gave me a miracle. You gave me hope again, that not all that I had was lost. And you gave me a chance…to get back on my feet and learn magecraft again. You…you gave me everything again." She then hugged me again and said, "You…were my miracle." I smiled and hugged my mother back, and we remained in our embrace.

To be honest, I was happy that she found me and saved me as well. Even now, I still remember the look on my mother's face when she became happy that I was saved. I now understood what she meant when she said that she was saved. No. We were both saved. We saved each other, giving each other a miracle.

Then, after we stopped hugging each other, I asked her…the one thing that could change me forever, "Mother…will you teach me magecraft?" My mother became surprised for a moment as I then said, "I…I want to learn magic. I want to be a mage, just like you, mother. I want to study and learn magecraft from you. I want to hold on to our family's legacy. I…I want to be a powerful mage, just like you are, mother!"

"Mirai…" mother looked at me as I gave her a determined looked, showing that I was serious. She continued to look at me for a moment, before she closed her eyes and nodded, then looked back at me with a smile and said, "Alright, then! If that's what you want, then I'll gladly teach you!"

I gasped in surprised before I smiled and asked, "Really?!"

Mother got up from the couch to look at me up front and said proudly, "Yes! From now on, I won't just be your mother! I shall be your teacher, and you shall be my pupil! And I will teach you everything you want to know about magecraft! But, only on one condition!"

I nodded, showing that I was listening.

"You'll have to listen and do everything exactly as I say, no matter what, and no matter how hard the training is, you must never complain and must always comply!" she said, "Do you understand, Mirai?"

I nodded happily and said, "Yes, mother, I will! I'll listen and do everything exactly as you say, no matter what, and no matter how hard the training is, I'll never complain and always comply!"

"Good." Mother nodded, "But just to warn you, once you take the path of a mage, you cannot turn back. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes." I said, "I'm ready."

Mother nodded once more and said, "Alright, then. Welcome to the mage world, Mirai Tohsaka."

And that was the beginning of how my path of studying to become a mage began.

* * *

Present day:

After I was done changing to my school uniform, and putted on the red trench coat, the same coat that my mother wore and now given to me as a gift, I opened the door and left my bedroom. I began to walk down the corridor of the mansion, with Sayaka now accompanying me.

"Good morning, Sayaka." I said, without looking back at her, as I knew she was already there with me.

"Good morning, milady." said Sayaka.

Then, Hiroko came to accompany us.

"Good morning, Hiroko." I said, again without looking back.

"Good morning, milady." said Hiroko.

We went downstairs and continued walking until we made it to the kitchen, with Aimi standing there waiting for me with a smile. On the table was a plate that had the silver cover on top of it. I sat down on my chair with both of my bodyguards standing beside me as Aimi removed the silver cover to reveal what was my breakfast.

"For your breakfast," said Aimi, "It is bacon, ham, and eggs with toasted bread, just as you like them."

"Ah, yes." I said, "Thank you, Aimi."

Aimi bowed before she took a step back and stood where she was.

As I began to eat my breakfast, I asked, "Any news of what has happened recently since yesterday?"

"Yes." said Aimi, "I should let you know that Tsukino, the former captain of the archery club, has resigned from Homurahara Academy to go to the Fuyuki hospital due to her recent injuries. It would seem that the bleeding from her wounds before have been reopened since she left."

As I listened, I used my Mystic Eyes to see if it was true. Sure enough, it was true. Then, I resumed my eating.

"I see." I said, "How unfortunate, but I suppose understandable, since the injuries were quite severe. Although, it was fortunate that you managed to make a healing circle for her to heal her arms, without having everyone noticing it. It wasn't enough to restore it completely, but at least it was enough to prevent the bleeding from going anywhere further. Any more and she would've likely suffer from blood lost. It was right of me to have send you to do the job, Aimi."

"Indeed, milady." Aimi bowed.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Yes." said Aimi, "Homurahara Academy will be having a new principal today, since our last principal has decided to quit his position. They say that he's quitting because of his weak mind and weak will to do anything as principal, since that scumbag of a bully, Shichirou Hashimoto, terrifies him. Obviously, he seems to be afraid of him."

"What a coward." said Hiroko.

"Tell me about it." said Sayaka.

"Well, at least he won't be threatened by him any longer." I said, as I have finished my breakfast, "Who may this new principal be?"

"That would be Issei Ryuudou, one of the residence of Ryuudou Temple." said Aimi, "Though it is temporarily, he will be the one who will take the position as a principal until a newer and more suitable principal arrives and take place. The reason being for his position is that, unlike our last principal, he seems to be stronger minded and willful to get the job done."

"The current Buddhist monk?" Sayaka asked.

"Correct." said Aimi, "Although, his ability to sense any supernatural is weak. However, that doesn't mean that he will become suspicious of someone or something. I believe that it would be best to be cautious around him."

I nodded in agreement. Mother explained to me who Issei Ryuudou was and told me what I needed to do should I ever encounter him, so I was well prepared for what was to come for me.

"Hiroko, when will the package arrive?" I asked.

"It will arrive after school in the evening." said Hiroko, "Which give us time to prepare."

"I see." I said, "Good. Sayaka, any word from my mother?"

"She just called us this morning." said Sayaka, "She said that she had just arrived in London and is planning to meet her business acquaintance now. Her business there will be taking a long time, so she will not be returning to Japan any time soon."

"I see." I said, "Good. Then everything will be set."

I got up from my chair as Aimi took the plate off the table and went to wash them.

"Well, then," I said, "For now, let's get ready for school. We'll be doing lots of student council work today, so let's do those before we get ready for tonight."

"Yes, milady." they all bowed.

I then looked in front of me, and then raised my hand and pointed like a gun, and said quietly, "Yes. Soon, it will begin…the Holy Grail War." Then, As I began to have another flashback, I moved my hand as if I was making a shot and said, "Bang."

* * *

Flashback: years ago…

It had been a year since my mother took us in to our new home, a year since she took me under her wings and trained me to become a mage. During my training, I learned to speak German, and used it to chant spells, and I had learned all sorts of magecraft that my mother could teach me: Jewel Magicraft, Gandr, reinforcement sorcery, runes, all of which she knew she could teach me. I even learned martial arts from her as a means for self-defense should magecraft becomes useless for me. Mother even trained my companions to become mages and proper fighters as well, in order for them to become my bodyguards. It was a hard training, but it was worth it in the end. Even after our home was finished with its reconstruction, we continued training, to learn and to grow. While we trained, mother told me to not use my Mystic Eyes during training. Partly, it was because it would spoil the fun. Mainly, it was because she wanted me to learn how to do the things for myself, without the need of use for my eyes.

During those training, I continued to practice my Gandr shots on a target dummy. I had just fired my Gandr and it took down the dummy very easily. My Gandr, however, was large and slightly slow, but still was enough to kill.

"Very good shot, Mirai." said mother, "Your Gandr shots are improving. But, you shouldn't always put too much power on it, like you did just now. Using too much power will drain some of the mana in your body, and using that much force will only cause stress in how much your arm can handle a shot. Your Gandr should not be too much, but not too little either. Now, how about I demonstrate it for you?"

I nodded.

"Alright, then." said mother, "First, set a dummy up for me."

I nodded and when to set up another dummy as she told me. As soon as I was done, I went back to her.

"Alright." mother nodded, "Now then…watch and learn."

She raised her left arm up and pointed her hand towards to where the dummy was standing at, before she placed her other hand on her said arm. Then, a red and black orb began to appear on the tip of her left hand as she began to charge her Gandr shot at the dummy. The shot that she was making was not too big, but not too small either. It was just the right amount to what she was about to fire. Then, she whispered in German, "Schießen (Fire)." And she fired her first shot. Compared to mine, it was very fast, very persistent, and very accurate, and most of all, it was deadly; deadly enough to not only destroy the dummy, but also deadly enough to destroy part of the concrete that the dummy was standing on. I was…amazed and astounded for what my mother's Gandr did.

"Amazing." I said.

"Right?" mother smiled, "Now then, why don't you try again? And this time, do what I did."

I nodded and began to go out to set another dummy up. As soon as I was done, I went back to where I was standing and did exactly what my mother did and began to charge my Gandr. Just like mother, not too much, yet not too little. Just the right amount. Then, when I was done charging, I whispered in German, "Schießen (Fire)." And I fired the same shot my mother made. Just like my mother's when it made contact, it destroyed not just the dummy, but the concrete along with it. When I saw how I did it and saw it was just as powerful as mother's, I couldn't help but cheer in excitement.

Mother smiled at me and said, "Well, done, Mirai. Good job. Looks like you're becoming a natural at this."

"Mm-hmm!" I nodded happily.

The others stopped to watch and cheered for me as well, before they went back to resume their training.

"Well," said mother, "How about we do this one more time before dinner?"

"Yes." I said.

Then, without a moment of stopping, I continued my training on using Gandr.

* * *

Present day:

As we were getting ready to move out of the house, I went to the living room to search for my bag for school. But then, I stopped for a moment and saw a board game of chess that was on the table. As I looked at it, I smiled as another flash of memory came to me.

* * *

Flashback: years ago…

One night, on a raining day, as I was sleeping in my room, I had a dream. Or rather, I had a vision of the past. The vision that I saw, made me woke up from my sleep, and suddenly after seeing that, I just…couldn't sleep. The vision that I saw…it was a battle, that took place here long ago. It involved mages like us and…spirit-like beings fighting against each other, for a golden cup. Back then, I didn't know what it was, and I just…couldn't get the thought of that vision out of my head. When mother came in to my room and saw me awake, she asked out of concern for me, "Mirai? What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

I shook my head and said, "I had…a strange dream."

"I see." said mother.

"Or…no." I said, "Actually, I had…a vision. A vision of the past."

This caught my mother's attention as she looked at me curiously.

"A vision?" she asked.

I nodded and continued, "It was a vision…where it took place here, about 14 years ago. In the past, there were 7 mages just like us, with 7 spirit-like beings, fighting against each other, and they were trying to kill each other. The battle was…huge, and really scary, but…at the same time, it was also amazing. The mages with those spirits, one on each side, were fighting against each other, defeating each other one by one, until only one would win…in order to obtain a big golden cup. A magical golden cup. The battle…was called the Holy Grail War."

I looked at my mother and, to my surprise, she had a look of shock as her eyes were widened when I mentioned the name of what I had envisioned. When I saw that look, I thought that maybe she knew what it was, so I asked her, "Mother, what is it? What is the Holy Grail War? Do you know what it is?"

My mother stood where she was, in complete silence for a moment, as if she was thinking about something, before she muttered to herself, "The Holy Grail War, huh…? Well, that…is something I haven't heard in a long time…a long time…"

"Mother?" I said.

Mother then turned to look at me with a smile and said, "Well, Mirai, how would like to play a game with me? I'll explain all about it as we play."

I became confused by this, but I nodded and got out of bed to follow.

I went to the living room with my mother, as she was carrying a sort of set of chessboard game and placed it on the table. She then brought out chess pieces that had two sets, some pieces were unique, and each with different color; red and black, while one chess piece was a golden cup.

As mother began setting up the pieces on the board, she explained, "The Holy Grail War. It is a battle royale where 7 mages, like the ones you envisioned, becomes known as Masters, and 7 familiars, the ones you call spirit-like beings, being known as Servants, must fight to the death to win and obtain the "big golden cup" known as the Holy Grail."

"The Holy Grail?" I asked, "You mean, the one made from the Lord known as Christ?"

"Well, no, not quite." said mother, as she continued to explain, "You see, Mirai. The Holy Grail that I'm speaking about is not the real Holy Grail made by Christ. But rather, this Holy Grail, the one made for the Holy Grail War, is the omnipotent wish granting device that will grant the one wish of any Master and Servant pair who would claim victory for it." She then pointed to the pieces that looked like troops and continued, "Each Masters are paired with 7 Servants of the legendary epic heroes of the past known as the Heroic Spirits, to fight at their sides for their battle. Each of these Servants are formed in different classes, each of them with different characteristics, and each of them from a different history. Each of these 7 classes of these Servants are…"

She then began to set the other unique pieces up one by one to set one the board. She placed one piece that held a sword in his hands and said, "Saber, who specializes in swords and close combats. The Servants of this class are known as the most powerful and strongest class." She then placed another piece that held a spear and said, "Lancer, who specializes in spears and midrange combats." She then placed another piece that held a bow and arrow and said, "Archer, who specializes in arrows or other projectiles in combats and long-range attacks." She then placed another piece that held what looked to be something used to control a horse as if it was riding on something and said, "Rider, who specializes in riding skills and uses it to ride on horses, chariots, cars, or any other living things or vehicles that involves in riding." She then placed another piece that looked like a wizard in a hood and held a staff in his hand and said, "Caster, who specializes in spellcasting and any sorts of feet of magics, like us mages, but are much ancient and much stronger than us regular mages." She then placed another piece that looked like he was wearing a skeleton mask and held two daggers in both hands and said, "Assassin, who specializes in stealth and any sorts of tricks and lethal tactics that involves in assassination. The Servants of this class are known as the weakest class." She then placed a final piece that looked like an angry monster and said, "And lastly, Berserker, who-"

"Oh, wait!" I said, "Let me guess. Um…"

I looked at that piece and thought for a moment, before a thought came to me and said, "Oh, I know! They're big bad ugly beasts that scares people with its angry looks and menacing roars! Right?"

Mother looked at me dumbfound for a moment, before she chuckled and said, "Close, but not quite. They are known for losing all sense of rationality and sense of souls or consciousness for raw powers and incredible immense strength. While they are powerful, they are also quite dangerously threatening, both for life of Masters and others. And yes, like you said, they are 'big bad ugly beasts that scares people with its angry looks and menacing roars'. But, sometimes they can also be people, humans for instance, who also lost their sense of rationality for strength and power."

"I see." I said.

Mother finished setting up the pieces for both sides and said, "Alright then, Mirai, which color would you like? Red or black?"

I looked at the sets of chess pieces for a moment, before I pointed at the red set and said, "Red."

"Alright then, I'll go black." mother smiled.

We sat down in our chairs, in front of us were our respective colors of the chess pieces on the board. As mother showed me how this sort of chess game works and how to play, she explained, "Over 2 hundred years ago, a powerful object known as the Greater Grail was made by the Three Founding Families of Mages, and it was made as a core originally to create a gateway to the Akasha, also known the Swirl of the Root, before the creation of the system called Holy Grail War was made." After she was done showing me how the game is played, we began to play, with mother being first, as she then continued, "Our family, the Tohsakas, was one of the founding families, as well as the two other families, known as the Einzberns and the Makiris who later became known as the Matous."

"I see." I said, amazed, before I made a move.

As we continued playing, mother continued to explain, "The original purpose of the ritual was to recover the Third Magic lost by the Einzberns, also referred as Heaven's Feel, or the "Cup of Heaven". Around 1790, our ancestors of the Three Founding Families, Justizia Lizleihi von Einzbern, Nagato Tohsaka, and Zouken Makiri, created the system to create a gate leading to Akasha. At that time, the Mage's Association and the Holy Church were locked in a battle to the death, so a land in the Far East, where the Church could not monitor, was chosen. The Einzberns provided the alchemy to create it and prepared the vessel for the Grail, our family, the Tohsaka provided the necessary land and called forth the Servants, and the Makiri assembled the magecraft to stabilize the starting materials and designed the Command Seals that command the Servants. Back when the Tohsaka were developing the ritual of the Heaven's Feel along with the Makiri and the Einzbern, one of our ancestors, Nagato's daughter, played a greater role in the completion of the Holy Grail War system than her father. The Holy Grail War itself was devised by Justizia, and she was to become the key of the ritual. The Great Grail was created through forming a large circuit from many multi-layered Crests carved onto a bare rock over fifty meters in diameter. It was covered in multiple layers of circuits, while its many geometric figures turned in place. Justizia stood in the center of it and became the key to reenacting the Third Magic. The Holy Grail would have only been just a Holy Grail without her, as her will was required for Heaven's Feel. Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg, the teacher of the Three Founding Families, acted as a witness to the event."

"I see." I said.

Mother made a move before she continued, "The First Holy Grail War took place around 1800. However, it was not meant to be anything like the future Holy Grail Wars. It was not named as such then, as it was only meant to be a ritual for the families to reach Akasha. It took ten years from its establishment to gather the necessary energy to manifest. However, the Three Families who were originally planning to utilize it realized that the system could only allow for one person to utilize it. Though they had the same goals, their opinions on how to reach them were different, so the unforeseen aspect caused them to break off their alliance. Instead, they agreed to proceed with the system and the means to create the Grail, but they would then become enemies when it was summoned. Due to requiring seven Heroic Spirits to achieve the ritual and seven Masters to summon them, they had brought in four outside magi with the call of "We've succeeded in manifesting the Grail. If you'd like to witness this miracle, join us and become Masters." Though the outsider magi had only sought to learn about the ritual of activating the Grail, they used the internal quarrel as an opportunity to grant their own desires. Though the Three Families held the rights to the Grail, winning the conflict would allow them to obtain a wish regardless of the ancestry. It was not a major conflict in the end and can be called a "small quarrel of sorts" due to the conflicting opinions and interests. From the point of view of the Einzberns, the first time ended before the completion and the evocation site of the Grail was held at Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou. That was how the Holy Grail War came to be. Sixty years later, The Second Holy Grail War was held, formally taking on the name of the "Holy Grail War". Developing into a war for the second time, it pointed out shortcomings in the rules due to it developing into a murder spree in which nobody survived. It ended with no victory, and the Three Families took it as a lesson to create more precise rules such as bringing in a third party, the Holy Church. The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general populace, and the Church is responsible for the cover up work in which they manipulate information by modifying the memories of victims and covering up the battle damage while the Mage's Association handles the media."

"Why was it unknown to people?" I asked, as I moved another piece.

"Well," mother explained, as she moved another of her piece, "As I've said, it was a way to cover up what was going on to ensure that there wouldn't be any chaos or panics. Since the First and Second Holy Grail War, they needed someone from the Holy Church to ensure that everyone is kept safe and that everything regarding to the Holy Grail War does not go to the public. Should anyone learn about it or even witness anything related to the Holy Grail War, it would put them to death."

"I see…" I said, as I moved my next piece, "That sounds bad…I would hate for that to happen to good people…"

"Well, you're not alone there." Mother chuckled, as she moved her next piece, "But, it is what it is. Secret this and secret that. Rules are rules. Etc."

I laughed a little before I asked, "What about the next wars?"

"Well," mother continued, "The Third Holy Grail War took place in the 1930s, held on the eve of World War II. The fourth evocation site was confirmed and established, later becoming the center of the developing residential area of Shinto, the Fuyuki City Hall. Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the eighth head of the Einzbern family, prepared the Einzbern forest and the Einzbern castle as the family's headquarters. The Tohsaka, our family, and the Edelfelt, our rival family, were participants. The Edelfelts had two Masters, the Edelfelt sisters, each of them with the same Saber-class Servant due to their unique Sorcery Trait. The Einzberns, who were tired of losing out on reclaiming the Third Magic, subverted the usual system in order to summon and obtained an Avenger-class Servant, the Heroic Spirit of Vengeance and an Extra Servant Class, which replaced the Berserker-class, but that Servant was a very weak Servant without any abilities, thus the Einzberns lost and failed in the war. During the War, there were battles over the Lesser Grail with the Imperial Army and the Nazis as well, and the fighting unfolded in the Imperial Capital. As mentioned, Avenger was lost early during the conflict, putting the Einzberns to their loss, and while upholding the Saber Class' reputation, at least one of the Edelfelt sisters made it to the end. Unfortunately, they were ultimately defeated by our family, the Tohsaka, and the fate of the younger sister of the Edelfelt became unknown. The older sister ran away from the country, promising never to come back again. The Lesser Grail was destroyed during the battles before the victor could be decided, so the ritual became meaningless and failed. The evocation site of the Grail was set to be at the Fuyuki Church. There was a meeting held at a suitable time that appointed the then young Risei Kotomine as the supervisor for the next Holy Grail War. The ritual ended in failure, thus, like the last two Grail Wars, had no victor."

"Wow." I said, amazed, as I moved my next piece, "I had no idea."

"Yeah, I was amazed about it too when I read and learned about it." said mother, as she moved her next piece, "But, then again, it wasn't that surprising since no one has ever made any sort of victory."

"I see." I said, as I made another move, "So, were there other Holy Grail Wars as well?"

"You guessed it." said mother, as she made another move with her piece, "There were the Fourth and the Fifth. The Fourth Holy Grail War took place in 1994, where the fifth-generation head of the Tohsaka family, Tokiomi Tohsaka, my father…or rather, your grandfather, had participated in. Unfortunately, your grandfather tragically lost his life during the war, because he was betrayed and killed by his accomplice who had worked with him. The winner of that Holy Grail War was unknown, and the result of what had happened during the War became unclear. After your grandfather's funeral, I was taken in and raised by a friend of his, and then trained under him to become the skilled and proper mage I am now. And then I participated in the Fifth War 10 years later."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "10 years? The Fifth one happened 10 years later after the Fourth one?"

"That's right." said mother, "And yes, normally, the Grail requires 60 years in order to amass enough mana to be able to summon Servants, making the planning period span over generations, such as the case of the period with the First War all the way up until the Fourth War. However, if the Grail is unable to utilize its energy, that which is leftover can reduce the time to as little as a decade, such as in the case of the period between the Fourth and Fifth Wars. That was how I was able to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War."

"Oh, I see." I said, amazed, before I went and made another move with my chess piece and asked, "So, you participated in that War. Amazing."

"I know, right?" mother smiled, before she made another move, "Even back then, I couldn't believe it either."

"So then, mother," I said, as I made another move with my piece, "If you were a participant, did that mean did you had a wish, just like everyone and grandfather back in the war?"

Mother stopped to think for a moment, before she said, "No, not really. I didn't really have one. Back then, I only participated so that I could win, to prove to myself that I was a powerful mage. Honestly, I didn't really want anything for myself. I just…wanted to win, you know."

"I see." I said.

"Don't get me wrong though." said mother, as she moved her next piece, "Everyone has a wish that they want granted, and the idea of having your wish granted by the Holy Grail is great. Using it to wish whatever it is you want from it. Some can be good, while others can be selfish. But for me, it wasn't really worth it. I just didn't care about it, much less did I want anything from it, that's all. And besides, I already have what I want. A happy life, and a wonderful child, like you."

"Really?" I asked, which she happily nodded, "I see."

We both looked at the board of our chess game and looked at what we had left on the board. On my mother's side, she had Lancer, Archer, Caster, and 5 Master pieces left. On my side, I had Saber, Rider, Assassin, Berserker, and also 5 Master pieces left. It was a somewhat even standoff between the two sides.

"What did…grandfather wished for?" I asked.

Mother stopped and thought for a moment, before she said, "Well, honestly, I don't know. I was too young back then when the Fourth War happened, so I never asked him. Honestly, I wish I knew."

"I see." I said.

I then made another move before mother spoke up and said, "Well, anyway, there's that. That's what the Holy Grail War is, and that's how it came to be. As for the conclusion of the Fifth…well, let's just say that it ended differently than most of the Holy Grail Wars."

"How did it end differently?" I asked.

"Well, Mirai," said mother, as she made another move, "That is…well, I think that's a story for another time. Let's just say it's a little…complicated. You probably wouldn't understand."

"Oh." I said, before I made a next move, "Okay. So, mother, how is a Master chosen for the Holy Grail War?"

"Well," said mother, as she made another move, "The Grail selects potential Masters anywhere from years in advance to right before the start of the Holy Grail War. It selects those from the Three Founding Families and then picks out suitable magi through a mostly unknown process. There can be more than seven potential Masters, but only the first seven who manage to summon Servants gain Command Seals and the right to act as a Master. Although, it is possible for other unchosen people to gain the right to act as Masters by contracting with Masterless Servants. The Servants can be summoned in advance as well, but more than two months, such as in Berserker's case, is an anomaly. They can be summoned far away from the site of the ritual, allowing them to be initially summoned in Europe and then brought to Fuyuki. While played off as only a battle royal where the winner is granted a wish, the real point is to fill the vessel of the Grail with the souls of all 7 Servants. Defeated Servants revert to being pure energy and, while they would normally disappear from the timeline by returning to the Throne of Heroes, a place existing outside of both the World and the time axis, as information for the true Heroic Spirits, the Grail stops that process temporarily and then collects them. It is possible to make a wish upon it with only the power of 5 Servants, allowing it to grant most wishes. It is still incomplete and will take at least 6 to bring it into form. Its true purpose, opening a hole to the Root, requires all 7 Servants. Once the vessel is filled, the energy of the Heroic Spirits returning to the "Throne" is used by the Great Grail in a ritual to open a "hole" leading to Akasha."

"I see." I said, as I made another move.

"However," said mother, as she made another move, "As I've said before, there had been no true winners of the Holy Grail War, and no one that had participated in these wars had their wishes granted. It is a shame, though. Even if there was a Grail War now, I doubt that anyone in it would win."

I looked at the board again and looked at what we had left on the board. This time, mother only had Lancer, Archer, and 3 Master Pieces left, while I had Saber, Rider, Berserker, and 3 Master Pieces remaining. As I continued to look at the board, I began to have thoughts for a moment, thinking about what mother had told me during our time playing. Masters, Servants, and the Holy Grail War. The things that she told me about really intrigues me. Then, one thought came to my mind, and I finally made a decision, and said, "I want to participate in the Holy Grail War someday."

"Hmm?" said mother, confused.

I looked at her with a smile and said, "Someday, I want to participate in the Holy Grail War, where I fight other Masters and Servants, and then someday have my wish granted. And when the day comes, I'll fight as a Master and show the world that I'm a powerful mage. And who knows, if I win the Holy Grail War, I might have my wish granted."

Mother looked at me with a surprised look on her face, seeing that I was serious, before I took my Saber piece and placed it close to the Grail piece, saying happily, "Checkmate!"

I then looked back and smiled again, saying, "And who knows. Someday, you might be surprised, and you'll be proud of how strong I've become."

Mother continued to look at me with a surprised look on her face, before she began to laugh at what I said to her. Then, she smiled at me and said, "Well then, I look forward to the day that happens, Mirai."

After that, we decided to call it a day and began to put away the chess board game.

* * *

Present day:

We soon went out of our mansion and waited until Aimi locked the front door. Once she did, we went off to go to school. As we walked, we see that there were very few students from our school walking by, either talking to each other or reading books on their way. From the fact that there were very few students, I would say that we were early to school. Then, after some long walking, we have arrived at our school, Homurahara Academy. As expected, we were early to school.

"Well then," I said, "Shall we head to the student council's office?"

"Yes, milady." my companions bowed to me.

I nodded to them and then went inside to find our student council room. As we walked through the corridors of our academy, there were students who had their gazes on us as they recognized us and began to whisper to each other.

"Hey, check it out." "Is that who I think it is?" "Yeah, it's Tohsaka." "Oh, wow! She's so beautiful!" "Hey, check out those three." "Wow! Those two look really cool!" "Yeah, and that maid with them is so cute." "I can't believe it's them." "They're from the student council." "Hey, did you hear what the maid did the other day?" "Oh, yeah. That was awesome." "What happened?"

"God, I hate fans…" Hiroko muttered, annoyed by them talking about me and them.

"Come now, they were just complimenting us." I said, "You should learn to appreciate it."

Then, we passed by the principal's office and heard people having some sort of conversation inside. Out of curiosity, I stopped for a moment before I told my companions to wait outside for me as I went in to see what was going on. When I came in, I saw a teacher and staff member talking to our temporary principal of our academy, Issei Ryuudou.

Issei Ryuudou was a man around his mid-twenties, who had black hair and eyes, and wears glasses. He was dressed in a grey suit with a red tie on his collared shirt. He gives off a serious expression to the teacher and staff member as he was listening to what they were saying to him, as they were explaining to him what had transpired before he arrived and what he needed to do until then.

"I see." he said, "I understand. Thank you."

I knocked on the door before I closed it behind me to get their attention. When I did so, they all stopped what they were talking about and looked at me.

"Oh, Tohsaka." said the staff member, "I apologize, I didn't realize you were here."

"No, not at all." I said, "I just couldn't help but overhear what was going on, so I decided to let myself in."

"Who's this?" Mr. Ryuudou asked.

"Oh, this is-"

"Mirai." I interrupted, "Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council. Nice to meet you, Mr. Issei Ryuudou. I've heard about you."

"Oh, I see." he said.

"Oh, I apologize." said the staff member, "It seems I need to get back to the office. We'll continue this afterwards."

"Yes, I understand." said Mr. Ryuudou.

They got out of their seats and shook hands, before the staff member said, "We look forward to having you for a while, Mr. Ryuudou."

"Thank you." said Mr. Ryuudou, "Though it'll only be for a short while, I look forward to it, as well."

The staff member nodded with a smile before he packed up his things and left with the teacher with him, leaving me and Mr. Ryuudou in the office.

"So, Tohsaka, was it?" he began, "You…wouldn't happened to be related to someone named Rin Tohsaka, would you?"

I gave out an amused smile. Oh, this was going to be fun!

"Why, yes." I said, "I'm her daughter."

He looked at me dumbfounded, before he made a shocked expression and shouted, "WHAT?!"

I chuckled a bit and said, "Is it that surprising?"

"W-W-Well, yes." He stammered, as he tried to fix his glasses in place, "I…I, uh…w-w-well, I…I-I never thought that…Tohsaka of all people…would have a legitimate child…"

Oh, that look on his face. He is amusing to mess with.

"Oh?" I smiled mischievously, "Do you want to know how it happened?"

"Huh?" he said, confused.

"About how I became her daughter." I said.

"W-Well…yes." he said.

Oh, I am so going to have fun messing with him!

"Well," I began, "It all started…when my mother was having se-"

Suddenly, he screamed from what I was about to tell him about me before he shouted, "NO, STOP! Never mind! I DON'T want to hear it!"

"But, you said you do~" I teasingly said.

"Well, I changed my mind!" he shouted, "And don't you dare try to go any further with that story!"

I wanted this to last, but, oh well.

"Yes, sir." I teasingly said.

"Jeez, you two are so alike…" he muttered, as he went to go sit at his desk.

"Well, I should be going now." I said.

"Oh, hold on." he said, making me stop at the door.

"Yes, Mr. Ryuudou?" I said, giving him only a quarter of my face.

"I heard from the staff member about what happened the other day." he said, "I…honestly don't know how you managed to figure out what had happened and what was going to occur, nor do I know what you did to get rid of him so easily, and clearly, I don't want to know. However, I do want to ask, do you know why Shichirou Hashimoto acted the way he did?"

I remained silent for a moment, before I answered, "No, sir. I'm afraid I do not."

"I see." he said, "Well, alright then. You may leave."

I nodded before I opened the door and left the office. My companions were outside patiently waiting for me. Before we decided to head to the council's office, I used my Mystic Eyes to predict something, before I told my companions, "Step aside." And they did so. Reason being, was because someone, specifically a girl, was running in the hallway, so we stepped aside to let her run pass us.

"Hey, Hiiragi!" we heard.

We turned to see a boy, the same boy from the other day, trying to catch up to his friend.

"Wait, hold on!" he said, running after her.

But then, as we moved up in front of him, he accidently bumped into one of us and fell back. We just stood there unfazed.

"Ow…" he groaned, before he looked up and noticed us and said, "O-Oh! Um…s-sorry! I uh…wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay." said Sayaka, as she brought out her hand, "Just watch where you're going next time."

He took Sayaka's hand as she helped him up and said to us, "Uh…thanks. Uh…sorry, I haven't seen you girls before. Are you…new or something?"

"We're from the student council, actually." I said, as my companions stepped aside to allow him to see me, and I gave him a smile.

He looked at me for a moment, then at my companions, and then back at me, before he realized who I am and said, "Oh! So, you must be President Tohsaka! Sorry, I didn't even realize. So, anyway, uh…my name is-"

"Yuzuru Shindou." Aimi interrupted, "Age 17, 2nd year of Homurahara Academy, 5'5" tall, transferred here from Misaki Town, and loves to help out various people, including both students and teachers alike."

The boy looked at Aimi dumbfounded, much to my hidden amusement, and began to ask, "Uh…h-how…did you-?"

"I am very well informative." Aimi smiled.

"Oh." said Yuzuru, "Uh…okay. Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm honored to meet you, President Tohsaka."

"Well, I'm honored that you know who I am." I said, "Nonetheless, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council, and I am a 3rd year of Homurahara Academy. And these three with me are my companions, and like you, they are 2nd years. Sayaka Tsukuda, vice-president of the student council and bodyguard. Hiroko Ishikawa, my bodyguard along with Sayaka. And you've already met Aimi Shimizu, my maid."

With each introduction of my companions, they each gave him their own gestures of greetings: Sayaka saluted with a smile and a wink, Hiroko nodding to him, and Aimi simply bowed to him.

"Nice to meet all of you." he bowed to them.

"Now, Yuzuru, was it?" I said, "I believe you were involved with what had happened the other day."

"Huh?" said Yuzuru, before he realized what I was talking about, "Oh! Uh…yeah. That's right."

"Yes, I thought so." I said, "How're your injuries? Considering that you're still here, I believe that full of rest got you all better again."

"Uh…yeah." said Yuzuru, "All better."

"Good to know." I nodded, "Now, as much as I'd like to continue having some discussions with you, I believe that you should get going. Your friend must at the front gate by now."

"Huh?" he said, before he suddenly realized, "Oh, crap! Hiiragi! That's right, I almost forgot!"

"You should get going now." I said, "If you hurry, you might be on time to go get what you're looking for."

"Ah, right." said Yuzuru, before he bowed to us, "Uh…sorry for wasting your time. I gotta go now. Uh…bye."

We stepped aside to let him leave before we greeted him farewell.

"Now then," I said, "Shall we get going?"

"Of course, Ojou-sama." they bowed to me.

I nodded, and we began to leave to go to the student council's office. Sayaka moved up to me before she whispered and asked me, "Lady Mirai, about that boy…what about him? What do we do if he becomes involved? What if bringing him to the mage world becomes a mistake?"

"Not to worry, Sayaka." I whispered back, "It won't be. I can already tell the future, of what might be in store for him."

Sayaka bowed to me before she moved back behind me to the others, and we continued walking to the student council's office.

* * *

After school was over, everyone began to leave to walk home. We left the school last, and we began to walk on our way home. Once we arrived home, we saw a delivery box standing in front of our home door. It's here. Sayaka opened the gates before she closed it, Aimi picked up the delivery box, and Hiroko opened the door to let us in before checking if anyone is watching, making sure the coast is clear, and closed the door. We then went downstairs to our basement, where our summoning circle was set and prepared for us. Aimi then placed the delivery box on the table before taking out a boxcutter and began to cut open it. Once she was done, she then opened it to reveal what was inside it. Inside the delivery box…was a black box.

"So, is this the relic perfect for a catalyst?" I asked.

"Yes, my lady." said Hiroko, "Though we do not know what it truly is, nor do we know if it has any purposes. However, we do know that the name of this relic is called "The Origin Box". Likely, it is possible that whoever you summon with this box will be a powerful Servant. Quite possibly a Saber, if you're lucky."

"Well, let's hope it does." said Sayaka, "Because we don't want our lady to end up losing the fight."

"She won't." said Hiroko, "She has been trained for this moment. And we have been trained to protect her in order for her to win. Surely, you're aware of that."

"Yeah, I am." said Sayaka.

"It doesn't matter which Servant-Class I summon." I said, "As long as the Servant can be useful in battle, I have no reason to care about such matter, and as long as the Servant is obedient enough to obey me."

"But of course." Hiroko bowed.

"As you wish, Mirai Ojou-sama." Aimi bowed.

"We gratefully respect that." Sayaka bowed.

"And besides," I said, "If I used my Mystic Eyes to figure out what kind of Servant I would summon, that'd only spoil things, so where would the fun be in that? I'd rather not use my powers to spoil anything and ruin the surprise."

"Of course, milady." Hiroko nodded, before the other two nodded as well.

"Good." I said, before I looked at the black box, "Now then, let us begin the ritual. Let's see what kind of Servant you summon, Origin Box."

We placed the Origin Box onto the stone counter behind the summoning circle, before I stood in front of the summoning circle looking in front at where my catalyst is. Then, I brought out gemstones that I channeled mana into from my pocket. On the backside of my right hand, there was already three Command Seals on it, representing me as a Master. My Command Seal represented the Tohsaka families' lineage. I looked at it for a moment, thinking to myself.

"Can I truly grasp it?" I thought, before I looked at the summoning circle again, with the catalyst still standing on the counter. I then nodded with pure confidence and thought, "Yes. I can do this. Now, here goes."

I stood straight with determination. Then, I raised up my hand with the Command Seals on it, holding onto the gemstones, before they began to melt into magical liquid. With the drops that they began to make, I then began my chant to summon the Servant:

" **For the elements, silver and iron.**

 **For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Pacts.**

 **And, for my great master, Schweinorg.**

 **Close the four gates.**

 **Come forth from the Crown, and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom.**

 **Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.**

 **Repeat five times. But when each is filled, destroy it. Set."**

With every drop of magical liquid coming down to the summoning circle, the circle then began to absorb the liquid and began to glow with each droplet made. Then, when I finish with the last chant, the summoning circle then began to glow brightly out of pure white light. With the circle glowing, the Magic Circuit in my body began to vibrate to the glowing summoning circle. Then, as the circle continues to glow, I then began another chant of the summoning:

" **Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.**

 **If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.**

 **I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world.**

 **That I shall defeat all evil in the world."**

With the chants that I made, my arm began to vibrate even more and much stronger than before, and the summoning circle began to glow even brighter as a force of wind was coming out of nowhere, forcing my companions to cover their faces from the strong gust and from the bright light, while I remained where I was and continued with the summoning with a determined look on my face and then shouted out the final chant:

" **Seventh heaven, clad in the great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, thou Guardian of Scales!"**

With the final chant being said, the light glowing within the summoning circle shined became even brighter than before, brightening the room in pure white light and forcing all of us to cover our eyes, both from the gust of wind and the shining bright light. Then, after the light cleared out, and our eyes became readjusted, we looked to see the Servant that I had summoned, and standing before us…was indeed a Servant, a man to be specific.

This Servant had a red cloak that serves as a hood and a cape; under the hood, his face is covered in bandages. On his left shoulder, he wears a shoulder plate appeared to be made of scrap metal. He also wears what appears to be black spandex with silver straps on his arms and legs, and also wearing a silver plate of metal chest armor, two silver metal boots with two straps on each of them, and a silver belt which holds his red waist cape and a holster with his gun on his left waist. Though his face was covered in bandages, I could already tell he was looking at us, specifically me.

"So, you're the one who summoned me." he said, "Well, I didn't expect to be summoned by someone quite a young Master…or perhaps I was the one who draw out the shortest straw."

"And you are?" I asked, letting the insult slide, "Whoever might you be, you are my Servant, yes?"

"And am I to presume that you are the one who is my Master?" the mysterious Servant asked back.

I smiled and said, "Why of course. I am present when you've emerged from the summoning, I am merely asking to clarify. You are my Servant, correct? Just mine, and nobody else's. You should know that a Master-Servant relationship should be cleared out right of the bat."

He nodded and said, "Yes, I completely agree with you. And just like you, I am merely asking to clarify. Tell me, where exactly is the evidence that you are my Master and not some fake?"

I smiled again as I showed him my Command Seals and said, "This right here. This is all the proof that you need to know that I am your Master."

Though his face was still covered in bandages, I could already tell that he was somewhat shocked about what I was showing him. He remained quiet for a moment before he sighed and said, "So it would seem…however, that is not something that I wish to see. What I wish to see is someone worthy of my loyalty, someone who I see is worth fighting with."

Hearing this shocked my companions behind me, as Sayaka then spoke up and said, "Excuse me?! Are you saying our lady isn't good enough for you, buddy?!"

The mysterious Servant looked at Sayaka and said, "Unfortunately, I am unsatisfied with the fact that this "lady" of yours of a little girl is my Master. I will, however, acknowledge her as my Master, only on one condition: in the war to come, I will not obey her commands, and I will decide how I battle." He then looked back at me and asked, "You have no objections, do you, little miss?"

I merely stood there looking at him, but I did not express any emotions to him. Because, I wasn't surprised that this Servant would be acting this way. In fact, I was actually already well prepared for this to happen, for how Servants were to behave towards their Masters when they meet and what Masters must and mustn't do. The others, however, though I wasn't looking at them, I could already tell that they were not pleased with what this Servant was proposing.

"I see." I said, emotionlessly, "So, you would begrudgingly acknowledge me as your Master, yet refuse to listen to my tactical opinions. Why is that? You are my Servant, are you not?"

"Yes." said the Servant, "But it is in form only. So, I will obey you in form only, and I will be calling on my own shots. And until this Holy Grail War comes to an end, I would suggest that you and your friends find a safe haven down at some cellar. Do so, even novices such as you little girls should be able to stay alive."

I remained emotionless, as a shadow cast over my eyes as I looked down. Behind me, I could hear my companions growling or groaning in sheer anger. They were obviously not pleased to hear what this Servant was saying to me, taking what he was saying to me as insults.

"Oh?" said the mysterious Servant, "Have I made you angry, or have I made you upset that your spirit is broken? Well, either way, it doesn't matter to me. After all, I was summoned here to win a great victory for my Master. My victory will be your victory, and I will pass on any fruits of battle to you." He looked at my angered companions and said to them, "And of course, you three, as well." He then looked back at me and continued, "I'm sure that it is acceptable? So, leave everything to me and see to your own safeties well beings. Because, I don't expect…anything from you."

Hearing that last part angered my companions even further, as they then draw out they're weapons, preparing to attack.

"Why you!" Sayaka angrily said.

"How dare you insult our lady!" Hiroko angrily yelled.

"You have gone too far!" Aimi angrily said.

But then, I raised my arm up to the side, signaling them to halt their assault on the Servant, then signaled them to stand down, and they reluctantly did so. The mysterious Servant then looked at me curiously, wondering what I was about to do or say.

"I see." I said, emotionlessly, "How very sad…" Before I smirked and looked up at him with confidence, saying proudly, "Is what I'd like to say."

"Hmm?" he said, confused.

"However," I said, as I raised my hand up with a Command Seals, "I already came well prepared for this."

Seeing what I was about to do shocked him, as he then said, "W-Wait, you wouldn't…!"

"You wish to know who is your Master," I said, readying my Command Seals, "Then I will gladly show you who is your Master." I then began to chant in German, "Anfang (Start)."

"Wha-no!" said the Servant, somewhat afraid, "Wait!"

"Sorry." I said, "But you are becoming a disgraceful ingrate, and ingrates need to be taught a lesson." I then continued chanting, "Vertrag (Contract)….Ein neuer Nagel (A new Nail)…Ein neues Gesetz (A new Law)… Ein neues Gesetz (A new Law)… Ein neues Verbrechen (A new Crime)!"

"What're you doing?!" he shouted, "Are you out of your mind?! You'd use a Command Seal on something like this?!"

"Now!" I announced, as my Command Seals began to glow bright red, "In the name of Mirai Tohsaka, and by the power of my Command Seal!"

"Wait!" he shouted, "Stop!"

"I order you," I announced, showing him my glowing Command Seals, "To obey me in pure absolution! Do everything as I say!"

Once I made a command, a powerful force of wave of the wind blew out, as the red aura appeared and blew out from my hand, effecting only the Servant as he felt the powerful compulsion of it, nearly bringing him to his knees. Once the command was done, a part of my three seals began to vanish, leaving me with only now two Command Seals.

Infuriated at what I did, the Servant shouted, "Augh, are you really that stupid?! I CANNOT BELIEVE that you would use a Command Seal on THAT!"

I merely smiled and said, "Well, now that that's done, why don't we take this elsewhere? Come with us."

* * *

We entered my grandfather's study room, and I was sitting on the couch as Sayaka and Hiroko was sitting on the couch opposite to me while Aimi remained standing next to me as she was serving tea. Meanwhile, the mysterious Servant was looking around the room for a moment, before he turned to us and said to me, "Well, Master, I believe I have a clear idea of who you are. But just to be sure, you do realize what Command Seals are and how precious they are, do you?"

My companions grumbled at him from what he was asking, annoyed by the fact that he was as if he is treating me like a child.

"What's that superior tone you're making?" Sayaka silently grumbled and cursed, "Absolute obedience to what she says, my ass."

"At ease, Sayaka." I said, calmly, "He's merely asking me just to confirm." I then stood up from my seat to turn to the Servant and said to him, "Of course. They symbolize our power to compel our Servants up to three times. Command Seals compel a Servant to perform a specific action. For example, a Servant such as you are incapable of teleporting from this place, however, if I order via the Command Seal, it would use both our mana to make the teleportation very possible. The three seals are the crystallization of high magic, overcoming the limits of flesh and blood. Am I correct?"

The Servant nodded and said, "Yes, that is correct. Although, in this case, I suppose it's been reduced to two now."

"I am fully aware of that, and what you're asking me." I said, "Even with one missing, I can still use two. And besides, using the first seal on you worked, did it not? I have no reason to be concerned, for I didn't waist it, no?"

The mysterious Servant approached us and said, "Well, I'll admit, I've miscalculated a bit. However, with vaguely worded orders, the Command Seals are less effective, which is exactly what happened to your order earlier. Not even a hundred Command Seals could cause true absolute obedience in all words and actions."

Hearing what he said shocked us a bit, which made Sayaka asked, "So then…you're saying that the Command Seal that our lady used on you was actually pointless?"

"Hmm." he said, thinking for a moment before he said, "Well, yes, normally, that would be the case."

"I see." I said, slightly disappointed.

"However," he said, getting our attention again, "It would seem that your skill as a mage is very extraordinary."

"Oh?" I said, surprised.

"Are you trying to flatter our lady?" said Hiroko.

The Servant chuckled a bit before he said, "No, not at all. In fact, that's what I meant when I said I miscalculated. Since her order earlier, I felt a powerful compulsion to obey her. Not entirely enough for me to obey her completely, but powerful enough to ensure that I would not betray her. Honestly, I find it quite very annoying."

Me and my companions were suddenly taken by surprise from what we were hearing from him, even to the point that Sayaka and Hiroko got up from their seat and we turned to him.

"Wait." said Aimi, "Then, are you saying…?"

"Yes, I am." he said to Aimi, before he turned to me and asked, "Mirai Tohsaka, was it?"

I nodded out of confirmation, and he said, "Then, I take back what I had said to you, Mirai, my Master. You may be young in years, but you are truly an outstanding mage. I made a complete mistake looking down on you as just a helpless child, and trying to keep you from fighting, when in actuality, you are cunning and have the smarts of knowing what to do." He placed his right hand on his chest, before he bowed to me and said, "I apologize to you for that." He then turned to my companions and said, "And you three, as well. Despite your youthful age, I can tell that you three are talented fighters who have been well trained, and I made a mistake in looking down on you three as I did to your lady."

My companions came over to my side as Sayaka then asked for me, "Then, you acknowledge Lady Mirai as your Master even without her using a Command Seal?"

"Of course." said the Servant, "I had just been summoned and was not fully acclimated. But now, we are fully connected. As a powerful mage, you can feel the bond between us through our pact."

I placed my hand on my chest and closed my eyes, concentrating on the inside. And yes, as the Servant said, I could already feel the connection with him, flowing within my body like water streaming. Yes. This was our pact. The pact between Master and Servant.

"Yes, that's right." I said, as I opened my eyes to look at the Servant, "The Servants are summoned by the Holy Grail. However, it is not the Grail itself that anchors them to this world."

"Yes." said the Servant, "A Master's power does. As you know, Servants need mana from their Masters to remain in this world, and my mana feed from you is more than satisfactory. Yes…there's no doubt, that you are a first-rate mage."

Hearing him say those words made me smile and said, "Well, I am quite flattered from you."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, before Sayaka suddenly asked, "Wait, hold on a second. You're…not a Saber?"

"Hmm?" we all looked at him curiously.

The mysterious Servant sighed and said, "Sorry. I hate to break it to you, but…" he pulls something out, revealing in his hand what appears to be a combat knife and said, "The only weapon I have is this." Then he pointed at his gun in his holster and added, "And this gun."

"I see." I said, "Then, if I had to guess, that would make you an Assassin Class Servant."

"Correct." said the Servant, now called Assassin.

"I see." I said. I then heard groans of disappointment from my companions. It would seem that they were not satisfied with the Servant Class that I have obtained.

"Well, dammit, we blew it all!" Sayaka grumbled.

"Agreed!" said Hiroko, angrily and disappointingly, "We've spent all of our time getting a perfect relic for our lady to use as a catalyst for summoning, and THIS is the kind of Servant we get from that damn box?! And it's in the weakest class of all thing! Well, "The Origin Box" my ass! That damn thing didn't even summon anything ancient but this one! It's completely useless!"

"Yes." said Aimi, "It is quite disappointing."

"Well, too bad for you kids." said Assassin, "I'm not the Saber, nor am I an ancient hero you're looking for."

My companions then sighed disappointingly before turning to me and bowed as they said apologetically, "We're very sorry, Ojou-sama."

I smiled at them and said, "No, you have no need to apologize. None of you are completely to blame. True, it was a painful blunder to be sure, but all was not in vain."

They looked at me as I continued, "As I've said before, it doesn't matter which Servant-Class I summon, much less do I care that I summoned a weak Servant Class and not a Saber. As long as the Servant can be useful in battle, I have no reason to care about such matter, and as long as the Servant is obedient enough to obey me."

They looked at me with surprised looks for a moment, before they bowed to me and said, "As you wish, Mirai Ojou-sama."

"Good." I said, before I turned to Assassin, "You, too, have no objection to that, do you?"

Assassin crossed his arms and nodded as he said, "No, not at all, Master. If you believe my skills can be of use to you, then I'm fine with it."

"Good." I nodded.

"I will, however, make you girls rue those words." said Assassin, "You can apologize all you want, because I won't forgive any of you."

We looked at him confused for a moment, before we smiled at him.

"Well, if that is what you wish, then see to it that we regret our words, Assassin." I said.

"When it does happen, we'll apologize as much as you want." said Sayaka.

"We'll apologize, even if it is the last thing we do." said Hiroko.

"Yes, and we will keep apologizing until you forgive us." said Aimi.

Though we could not see his face because of the bandages and the hood, I could tell he was smiling under it. He nodded as he looked at us and said, "Right. Just don't forget, Master. And you three, as well."

One by one, we nodded to him, and remained where we were as the moonlight shined down above us through our window until it was time for us to go to bed.

* * *

As we walked down the corridors before we went down to the stairs, one thought suddenly came to me.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot." I said, as I turned to Assassin, "Tell me, what Heroic Spirit are you?"

When I asked that, my companions all turned to Assassin and looked at him curiously, waiting for him to answer. However, as we waited for him to answer, he…just remained silent, for a long period of time. We looked at each other confused before we turned back to Assassin and I asked, "What's wrong, Assassin?"

Assassin remained silent and said nothing for a moment, before he finally said, "I'm…afraid that I can't give you any information about who I really am…for the simple reason, that even I myself don't know."

Hearing what he said made us shocked as our eyes widened and we all shouted, "What?!"

"Seriously?!" Sayaka yelled, "Are you messing with us?! I can't believe you!"

"What does that mean?!" Hiroko shouted, "Do you mean to tell us you're a Heroic Spirit, but you don't even know who you are?!"

"I do not mean to insult you or any of your friends, Master." said Assassin, "But despite the perfect summoning that you preformed, my memories are a complete jumble, and my identity is completely hazy. Well, it's not like those are important details, so there's nothing to be concerned about."

"God dammit!" Sayaka grumbled, before she shouted, "Those are damn important details, Assassin! If our lady doesn't know who you are or what kind of Heroic Spirit you are, then we have no idea how powerful you are!"

"That's right!" said Aimi, "How is our lady supposed to form a strategy if she doesn't know her partner's strength and capabilities?!"

"That's enough." I said, "It doesn't matter."

They turned to me and looked at me concerned.

"But, Ojou-sama…" said Sayaka, worriedly.

"It's alright." I said, "Besides, it won't change the fact that no one else knows who he is either. In fact, I find that to be a perfect way to be used as a strategy. If no one else knows who Assassin truly is, then that will be used to our advantage."

They looked at me surprised from what I was suggesting, before Assassin spoke up and said, "My Master is right. Even if you girls know who I am, nobody outside of our group does. Putting me in an unknown, then that could help you win in the Holy Grail War."

"Yes." I said, "So for the time being, we shall overlook the issue about who Assassin truly is and continue our task at hand. Is that clear?"

They all thought for a moment, before they said, "Yes, Ojou-sama."

"Good." I nodded, "For now, we shall get some rest. We will make time to prepare in the morning."

They nodded and bowed before they began to disperse and leave to their rooms. I then looked at Assassin and said, "We will be getting some sleep for the night. You may leave, Assassin."

Assassin bowed to me before he turned into blue mana and vanished into spiritual form. I then left to go to my room to sleep.

I finished changing to my pajamas and went to my bed to sleep. I looked at the Command Seals on my right hand. Yes. Finally, it was almost time. There was only one more Servant left, before the Holy Grail War can truly begin. And I already know who will take that spot to be the Master of Saber. For now, I must rest and wait for that day to come. I closed my eyes and let myself fall to slumber, before I finally began to fall asleep.

Yes. Soon, it will all begin…

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	5. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 4

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 0: Prologue Part 4**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Ever since what had happened yesterday, the former captain of the archery club, Tsukino, quitted school and went to the hospital to get herself checked, and a temporary principal was taking place of the old one until a new principal would come and be able to handle things. Shichirou, from what I've heard, was finally expelled from Homurahara Academy because of what he did back at the archery club, thanks to the help of the student council who took matters into their own hand and handled the situation.

As for me, I've been recovering surprisingly well. I didn't know why, but my body seemed to have suddenly recovered quickly on its own, even to the point that I didn't even need to bandage myself anymore. Well, for whatever the reason, I guess I was lucky. But, it still didn't change the fact about what happened since yesterday. Yukitsuki-san became more worried now that she would have to keep an eye on me to make sure I was fine, even though I told her that I was fine. And now that Shichirou was gone, the school can finally relax, and everyone can continue on with their simple daily lives at school.

Today, as usual, me and Yukitsuki-san were early to school, and not many people had arrived yet. The only ones that were in class were me, Yukitsuki-san, Kurosawa-san, Asada-san, and Emilia-sensei.

"Good morning." we said.

"Ah, good morning." Emilia-sensei smiled, "You two are early as usual."

"Yeah…" I sighed, "All thanks to you-know-who."

Yukitsuki-san elbowed me to the side of my arm, irritated of what I said, and everyone in class laughed. And yeah, it did hurt. Then, we heard some loud and fast tapping outside the hallway, and suddenly we knew who it was.

Our usual friendly wild girl, Hiiragi, suddenly appeared from running from nowhere, ran over to our classroom and shouted cheerfully, "HEY, YUZZUCHI! GOOD MORNING!"

"Hey, Hiiragi." I said, "Good morning."

"Hey, hey, hey, Yuzzuchi!" she cheerfully and excitedly came over to me, "Listen, remember the sword that I showed you the other day?!"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, before I thought for a moment. Then suddenly, I remembered what she was talking about, and said, "Oh, yeah! That sword from King Arthur that you showed me, right? What about it?"

"Hehehe." Hiiragi smiled, "Well, I'm gonna bring it to somewhere where I could sell it and make some money out of it. But first, and before I do sell it, I want to bring you along for the ride, and I want you to let you have a feel of holding that GREAT sword of Excalibur! Or…was it Caliburn? Either way, I want you to come with me!"

Me? Come along? Well, I guess I could, but…we're still in class, so I don't think I'll be able to leave anytime soon. On the other hand, though, I could leave and then see the sword in person, seeing the legendary sword myself.

Then, Emilia-sensei spoke up, getting our attention, and said, "I'll tell you what, Shindou-kun, why don't you go along with her? It's still early before classes start, so how about you go along with her. And who knows? There might be something good in store for you."

"Emilia-sensei…" I said, surprised.

"Also, don't worry about being late or skipping school today." Emilia-sensei smiled, "I'll be sure to tell the staff that you had a good reason for leaving so early." He then turned to the others and said, "Of course, if you kids wanna go along with them, I'll be sure to do the same for you kids."

"Ahh, finally!" Kurosawa-san happily cheered, while stretching his arms, "I can skip school! I don't have to worry about staying up all day in class."

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "You are a real lazy butt…"

Asada-san chuckled and said, "Well, at least we'll be getting some fresh air while we go out. So, sure, why not? I'll come along, too."

Yukitsuki-san sighed again and said, "Well, I really hate to skip school because of this…but, if Shindou-kun wants to go, then I'll go along with you."

I chuckled a bit before I turned back to Hiiragi and said, "Alright, sure. We'll come along."

"YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!" Hiiragi cheered very loudly, before she shouted out excitedly, "Then let's go get that awesome sword and make some freakin' MONEEEYYY!" Then, out of sheer excitement, she began to run out into the hallway.

Oh, boy. I turned to my homeroom teacher who smiled while he nodded and signaled me to go after her. I gave him my thanks and went to go after her, with the others right behind me. I ran across the hallway to go after her, while trying to get her attention.

"Hey, Hiiragi!" I shouted, trying to get her attention. But she didn't seem to listen as she was then turning into a corner and running in another direction, the left.

I moved the same way she was going as I then shouted, "Wait, hold on!"

But then suddenly, as I tried to catch up to her, I accidently bumped into something – or rather, someone – in the way and I fell back to the ground.

"Ow…" I groaned in pain. Then when I looked up to see who or what I had bumped into, I saw three people that were standing right in front of me and were looking down at me. One of them I recognized was Aimi. The other two I didn't recognize. One of them has long blonde hair with two white ribbons forming two long pigtails and a black ribbon tied to the rest of her blonde hair and turquoise eyes. She appears to stand about 5"2' tall, and appears to have a slender feature. Like others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but with a black blazer that has red trimmings. The other has raven black mohawk hair and sharp dark blue eyes. She appears to be taller than me, and has a slightly built up muscular body than the blonde one next to her. Like others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but like the other girl, she wears a black blazer, only hers has dark purple trimmings, and is holding onto something that is wrapped up in cloth, about the length of a sword.

"O-Oh!" I suddenly realized, "Um…s-sorry! I uh…wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay." said the blonde one, as she brought out her hand, "Just watch where you're going next time."

I took her hand as she helped me up and I said to them, "Uh…thanks. Uh…sorry, I haven't seen you girls before. Are you…new or something?"

"We're from the student council, actually." Someone else said, as they stepped aside to allow me to see who it was, revealing herself to be a girl as she gave me a smile.

The girl has black shoulder-length hair with two hair ties tied to make two small strains of hair on both of her sides, and has blueish-green eyes. She appears to be about an inch taller than me, like the girl with black hair, and has an amazing body. Like everyone else in school, she wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but she also wears a long red trench coat.

I looked at her for a moment, then at her friends, and then back at her, before I realized what she said about who she is and said, "Oh! So, you must be President Tohsaka! Sorry, I didn't even realize. So, anyway, uh…my name is-"

"Yuzuru Shindou." Aimi interrupted, "Age 17, 2nd year of Homurahara Academy, 5'5" tall, transferred here from Misaki Town, and loves to help out various people, including both students and teachers alike."

Hearing that, I suddenly became surprised and felt awestruck as I looked at Aimi dumbfounded, and began to ask, "Uh…h-how…did you-?"

"I am very well informative." Aimi smiled.

"Oh." I said, "Uh…okay. Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm honored to meet you, President Tohsaka."

"Well, I'm honored that you know who I am." said the girl known as Tohsaka, "Nonetheless, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council, and I am a 3rd year of Homurahara Academy. And these three with me are my companions, and like you, they are 2nd years. Sayaka Tsukuda, vice-president of the student council and bodyguard. Hiroko Ishikawa, my bodyguard along with Sayaka. And you've already met Aimi Shimizu, my maid."

With each introduction of her group, they each gave me their own gestures of greetings: the blonde one, Sayaka Tsukuda, saluted with a smile and a wink, the black haired one, Hiroko Ishikawa, nodding to me and Aimi simply bowed to me like any maid would.

"Nice to meet all of you." I bowed to them.

"Now, Yuzuru, was it?" said President Tohsaka, "I believe you were involved with what had happened the other day."

"Huh?" I said, before I realized what she was talking about, "Oh! Uh…yeah. That's right."

"Yes, I thought so." she said, "How're your injuries? Considering that you're still here, I believe that full of rest got you all better again."

"Uh…yeah." I said, "All better."

"Good to know." she nodded, "Now, as much as I'd like to continue having some discussions with you, I believe that you should get going. Your friend must at the front gate by now."

"Huh?" I said, before I suddenly realized, "Oh, crap! Hiiragi! That's right, I almost forgot!"

"You should get going now." said President Tohsaka, "If you hurry, you might be on time to go get what you're looking for."

"Ah, right." I said, before I bowed to them, "Uh…sorry for wasting your time. I gotta go now. Uh…bye."

They stepped aside to let me leave before they greeted me farewell, and I greeted them farewell back before I hurriedly went on to find Hiiragi.

* * *

I quickly found Hiiragi at the front of the school gate, just as President Tohsaka said she'd be. She was waiting for me outside the gates while holding onto something in her hand. It looked like some sort of detector of some kind, shaped like some sort of laser gun. I guess she must've made that to detect and search for the sword in case that she lost it somewhere. As soon as I came over to Hiiragi, everyone else that wanted to come along was joined in, too.

"So," said Kurosawa-san, "where do we start?"

"I thought you weren't interested and just wanted to get out of school." said Yukitsuki-san, with a deadpanned expression.

"Aw, c'mon." he smiled, "Just because I'm not interested in the sword and stuff and just wanna get outta here, doesn't mean I don't wanna hang out with you guys. And besides, not often we get to hang out outside like this and doing something fun for a change."

Asada-san nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, quite true. We are always often busy with school and stuff. And it's not often we get to go out and have some fresh air."

Yukitsuki-san sighed in defeat and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Well, we've already gone out and come this far." I said, "Why not see where it goes." I then turned to Hiiragi and asked, "What's that?"

Hiiragi smiled somewhat mischievously and began explaining, "THIS is my version of a metal detector. I call it, "The Super-Duper-Heavy-Metal-Hiiragi-Laser-Blaster-Detector"! This device allows me to search and detect any, and all other possible metals that are buried even very deep underground! Hell, it can even find and detect metals under the very deep water if that's how you want it to work! It can even…!"

We looked at her dumbfounded at her…complicated explanation, not any one of us even trying to take in what the hell she was saying. Let's just say it kinda…unusual and downright…well, complicated.

Then, Asada-san spoke up and asked, "So, does it work?"

"Of course, it works!" Hiiragi smiled, while waving her own metal detector around, before she said, "Observe!"

Hiiragi pointed her metal gun detector on the ground. Then, as she pulled the trigger, a green laser beam came out of it, aiming and hitting the ground, but it wasn't destroying the ground nor burning it, but instead, it looked like it was scanning the ground. We were amazed by how this metal detector gun was doing. It almost looked futuristic. As Hiiragi moves the detector to scan the ground slowly, the machine was making a slow detecting beeping noise. It kept on going until suddenly, the color of the scanner laser beam turned into red, and making a much faster and slightly louder, hinting that it found something, likely a metal, on the ground. Once it was done, Hiiragi turned off her scanner, spun it around her hand until she made a pose with a peace sign, and sang out. "Ta-da~!"

Seeing her doing that, we just couldn't help but cheer for her and clap our hands together in applause.

"That's amazing!" Yukitsuki-san cheered.

"Not bad." said Kurosawa-san.

"That was great, Hamasaki-san!" Asada-san cheered.

"Yeah, that was great!" I said, still amazed.

"Right?" Hiiragi cheerfully smiled, "With this baby, we'll be able to find and get that sword in no time! And~ since that sword is metal, we'll be able to detect that baby easily!"

I looked at the other three who each gave me their own smiling expressions, before Kurosawa-san said, "Well, we've come this far. Let's go get what you want and sell it and see what it's worth."

I nodded and said, "Right. Let's go." I looked at Hiiragi and said, "Hiiragi, lead the way."

"OKAY!" said Hiiragi, excitedly, with one arm raised to the air.

"Everyone." we heard someone called.

We turned around to see that it was Matou-sensei who had approached us while we were talking. She came to us with a smile and said, "Do you mind if I come along?"

"Matou-sensei." I said, "What're you doing here?"

"Good morning, Shindou-kun." she smiled to me, before she turned back to everyone else, "I just couldn't help but listen to your conversation as I was passing by. So, are you kids planning to skip school today to look for the sword?"

Yukitsuki-san sighed sadly and said, "Not that I want to…but yeah, I am if Shindou-kun's going."

"I'm going along because I wanna get outta school today." Kurosawa-san lazily said, "I'm just using this as an excuse to get out because I'm tired and I'd rather not do much work today."

"I don't have anything better to do." said Asada-san, "Plus, I thought I'd take a break as class representative for today."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, "Well, lucky for you, kids, Emilia-sensei told me where you kids were and what was going on beforehand, and while I went looking for all of you, I left a notification for the teachers and staff to let them know that you'll be leaving early today in case if none of you kids made it back. And, as a responsible adult and teacher, I've decided that I should come along with you so that you kids won't be getting into any sorts of trouble."

"Wait, you're coming with us?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Well, of course." Matou-sensei smiled, "I have to make sure that you kids are safe and sound so that none of your family members would be worried about you. Plus, it's nice for an old adult like me to hang around with youthful children like you. Seeing you kids like this brings me back to the days when I was young."

"Uhh…sensei, you're not that old." said Kurosawa-san, with a deadpanned expression.

"How old do you think you are, anyway?" said Yukitsuki-san, also with a deadpanned expression.

"Guys, be nice!" said Asada-san, trying to prevent an argument, "She's still an adult here!"

While the others talked to each other, I approached Matou-sensei and quietly whispered to her, "Are you sure you're alright, Matou-sensei? I mean, are you gonna be okay, after what happened the other day?"

Matou-sensei saw my worries and then smiled at me, before she quietly whispered to me back, "Don't worry about me. I've already treated myself back at my home since the other day. I'm all better now."

"I see." I whispered, "Hmm, okay. that's good."

Then, I felt Matou-sensei getting closer, before I felt a peak on my cheek, suddenly making me blush, and she whispered into my ears, "Thank you for worrying about me, your sensei, Shindou-kun. You truly are my favorite student."

Hearing what she said to me, I didn't know what to say or do. I just stood there, frozen, completely awestruck, and giving out a dumbfound expression. Matou-sensei looked at me and giggled at my blushing expression.

"Hey." said Kurosawa-san, snapping me back to reality, "What's up with you?"

"H-Huh?!" I stammered a little, "U-Umm! Uh, I-I…uh…n-nothing."

"Huh?" said Kurosawa-san, confused, "Really? Because it looked like you got struck by a love bug or something."

"U-Uh…" I stammered, trying to figure out how to explain, "W-Well…uh, I…uh…"

"Don't worry about Shindou-kun." said Matou-sensei, quickly covering for me, "He just told me that he remembered something very embarrassing during his childhood. Right, Shindou-kun?"

"Huh?" I said, before I quickly realized what she was doing and said, "Oh! Uh…yeah, that's right. Uh…I just…remembered something that I wanted to forget, that's all."

"Oh." said Kurosawa-san, "Uh, okay. Well, anyway, we're going now. Ready to come along?"

"Oh!" I suddenly noticed, "Already?"

"Jeez, how much of a daze have you gone in?" Kurosawa-san chuckled, "C'mon, if you don't hurry, we'll leave you behind."

"Uh…right." I said, before I looked at Matou-sensei who smiled at me and nodded, hinting that she was ready to come along. Then, we began to follow Kurosawa-san as we try to catch up with Hiiragi and the others.

* * *

We walked all the way until we were under the Fuyuki Bridge. We stood around and waited while Hiiragi was scanning and searching for the sword. We had been standing around waiting for a long while now, so much so that it's probably close to noon. Then after a little while, we decided to sit down to rest our legs while Kurosawa-san went somewhere to lie down and sleep. Since it was going to take a while, we decided to chat while we wait.

"So, Shindou-kun." Asada-san began, "I heard what happened the other day, what you were doing in the archery club when Shichirou was there."

"Really?" I asked, surprised that she knew about it, "How'd you know?"

"Well, I've been hearing rumors of what had happened the other day from the other classmates." said Asada-san, "And I also heard that you got into a fight with Shichirou, but you ended up losing to him."

"Oh, yeah…" I said, scratching the back of my head, "Well, I had to. I just couldn't stand there and let some jerk like him going around and hurting people, or worse."

"Well, that was pretty reckless of you doing that." I heard Kurosawa-san from behind me and Yukitsuki-san, "Honestly, if anything, the archery club should've just done something instead of just standing around like a bunch of pussies while watching you get your ass kicked."

"Well, you know they can't." I said, "And honestly, even I don't think even the staff would either. Knowing Shichirou, he'd probably try to exploit all their weaknesses, blackmail them, threaten them, and then warn them what would happen if anyone tried to do anything, like calling the police or something. If anything, he's like a devil that knows everything. That's why our old principal left because he was weak willed and weak minded, and probably because he wants to stay away from Shichirou."

"Well, make sense." said Kurosawa-san, "But, on the plus side, at least you had some balls to confront the bastard of a delinquent until the student council showed up."

"Yeah." I said, "I had to be brave for them. I couldn't just sit by and let anything else bad happen."

"Still," said Yukitsuki-san, "You really shouldn't have done that. Getting in there recklessly without even thinking of what you were do was the stupidest thing nobody would've done. You could've gotten hurt, or worse."

"I know." I said, "And don't worry. I won't do that again. Though I can't guarantee that I'll be able to hold onto that."

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Just try not to get killed next time."

"Hey, guys!" Hiiragi shouted, "I found it! I found the sword!"

"Oh, okay!" I shouted back, "On our way!" I then turned to the others and said, "well, waiting's over, let's go."

Before I left with them, though, I turned to noticed Matou-sensei was still sitting at the bench, and she looked like she was thinking to herself. I wonder what's it about?

I went over to Matou-sensei to look at her for a bit. She looked like she was thinking about something serious, seeing the serious expression on her face. Seeing her like that got me worried a bit, so I decided to say something.

"Matou-sensei?" I said, snapping her back to reality. She turned around to see me looking at her with a worried look as I asked her, "Sensei, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no!" she reassured, "It's nothing. Just thinking to myself. Anyway, we should go see Hamasaki-san."

I looked at her for a moment. I guess whatever she was thinking must be personal. Yeah, I think it'd be best not to bother her about it. I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, we should. Let's go."

"Mm-hmm." she nodded happily, before she got up and went with me to meet up with Hiiragi. We walked together with Kurosawa-san, Yukitsuki-san, and Asada-san until we got to Hiiragi who was waiting for us.

* * *

"AAAAANNNDDD…HERE IT IS!" Hiiragi shouted, excitedly, showing us the sword, "THIS is EXCALIBUR! Or…Caliburn? Either way, it's THAT, BABY!"

We all gathered around to look at the sword she was holding, and as expected, and much to most of our surprise, it was a sword from the Arthurian Legend. But, the sword wasn't the Excalibur that King Arthur wielded. Instead, I recognized it to be Caliburn, the sword of the stone.

As the legend said, it was a golden sword, with some few decorations like the handle that were colored in blue, the cross guard being colored in gold with blue in the center of each ends, along with the rain guard that was also covered in gold with few color blues. At the end of the hilt of the sword, there was a beautiful blue marble on the golden pommel. The edge of the silver blade was long and sharp, and completely straight all the way to the point of the sword. On the golden fuller, there was inscription that was engraved in it, that I knew what it means. It said, " _Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is right wise king of all England_ ".

"Wow." I said, amazed, "So, this is the sword…I mean, it's not exactly Excalibur. It's close, but not quite. This sword is actually Caliburn."

"Ohh." Everyone said, as they realized what I meant.

As I continued to look at it, I just…I couldn't help but wanted to hold onto that beautiful thing. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Kurosawa-san giving me a big goofy smile.

"You look like you wanna hold that thing." he said.

"Huh?" I said, surprised, "Really? Do I?"

"Obviously!" he laughed, as he patted on my back, "Besides, you really love things about the King Arthur stuff, right?"

I looked back at the sword as I thought about what he said to me. Looking at it now, I just couldn't help it. I mean, he was right. I do love things from the Arthurian Legend. It's been my favorite myth since childhood.

I then smiled and said, "Yeah. I do."

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Kurosawa-san asked, "Go ahead."

I looked at Kurosawa-san who smiled and nodded at me, before I turned to the girls who were also giving their own smiles as they nodded. I then looked at the sword again and thought to myself, "Hmm…should I do it?" I gave myself some time to think about it for a moment, before I nodded to myself and thought, "Well, we've come this far. Why not see what it feels like."

I reached out my hand as I began to slowly reach for the hilt of the sword. As soon as I got to it, I then grabbed it and slowly took it out of Hiiragi's hands. I picked the sword up and looked at it for a moment. How it felt to hold it, it…felt slightly heavy, but manageable for me to carry. Overall, holding to this sword from the old legend of King Arthur…felt really amazing. I couldn't help but feel like I want to try it out for a swing.

I turned to everyone for a bit and said, "Do you guys mind if move out the way for bit?"

Everyone looked at me confused, as they had no idea what I was about to do. Thankfully, though, Matou-sensei saw and realized it quickly and signaled everyone to stand back for safety, and so they did. I nodded in thanks before I turned to the front and readied myself.

Like any royal knights would in a duel, I hold onto it with both hands and set the sword in front of me flat first, looking only at my reflection on the blade. Then, I turned the blade around, showing me only the two halves of my view, readying myself to swing and strike. I lift the sword up above my head before I used a powerful enough force and I swung down for a counterstrike. Then, I went for a horizontal swing, before I made a vertical strike. Basically, I was swinging the sword around, and I repeated the process until I made one final swing and struck at nothing with a powerful piercing strike. After that, I stopped myself and when set myself back to where I was before.

Everyone, after seeing the display that I made, all clapped and cheered for me for the amazing show of swordplay.

"That was amazing!" Yukitsuki-san cheered.

"Nice one!" Hiiragi cheered.

"Beautifully done, Shindou-kun" said Matou-sensei, as she clapped her hands.

"Yeah, not too bad." said Kurosawa-san.

"You looked like a gallant knight fighting with nothing but a sword." said Asada-san.

"Oh, was I that good?" I said, as I rubbed against the back of my head, "Well, not really. I just…did what any story books showed me. Besides, this is the first time I used a sword like this."

"Well, how'd it feel?" Kurosawa-san asked.

"Well," I said, as I looked at the sword, "It felt…slightly heavy, but at the same time, very light. It's like someone forged their soul into it."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san.

I turned back to Hiiragi and sad, "Hiiragi, thanks for showing me this. I never really thought that I get see something like this. It means a lot."

Hiiragi gave off a goofiest smile and said, "Aw, it's nothing! When I looked up to some info and found this, I knew I just had to show you! Besides, King Arthur stuffs are part of your childhood."

"Yeah." I said, "Thanks. Well, anyway, you said you plan on selling it, right? What do you say we do that, and see how much it's worth?"

"Really?!" she shouted, excitedly, as her face went closer to mine.

"Yeah." I said, "Besides, I owe you one. We sell this, and we'll call it even."

"HORRAY!" Hiiragi cheered, excitedly, "Awesome! We're gonna go get some freakin' MONEY!"

I laughed and cheered along, "Hell yeah, we are!"

"YAY!" we both shouted and cheered out of excitement.

Everyone looked at each other for a bit, before they shrugged and decided to play along, before they too cheered, "Yeah!"

* * *

We went to someplace Hiiragi knew where we could sell lots of rare items for money. let's say it was a pretty good store to go to. Unfortunately, when we got there and showed them Caliburn…

"I'm sorry to say this," said the clerk, "But, um…you get nothing from this."

"Huh?" we all said, completely confused about what she was saying.

"WHAT?!" Hiiragi shouted, completely, while comically, shocked.

"But, why not?" I asked.

"Well," the clerk sweatdropped, "You see, sir…the sword that you have, Caliburn…it's actually fake."

"Huh?!" we all said, now even more confused.

"FAKE?!" Hiiragi shouted, even more comically shocked than before.

"Wait, what do you mean it's fake?" I asked.

"Well, the concepts and the design does look exactly like it's the real thing," the clerk explained, "But unfortunately, after further studies of looking into it, it's actually not. It's actually just a prop that looks like it's real. And because of that, you can't really sell it if it isn't the real thing. I apologize."

"Oh…" we all said, disappointedly.

Then, we saw Hiiragi slammed both of her hands on the counter, moved up towards the clerk, and shouted, "So, you're tell me, that I went through all that shit, of looking into the info of that damn thing, searched for it to see if it's real, found the damn sword, examined it, touched it, felt it, even licked it to see what it tasted like, left it there for my friend, found it again, showing to my friend, and then brought the sword over here all for NOTHING?!"

The clerk looked at her bewildered of what Hiiragi just said before she looked at us, specifically me, for answers.

I merely shrugged and said, "It's…kinda…a long and little…complicated story. Let's just say what my friend here does is a little…unusually unspeakable."

"I…see…" said the clerk, before she turned back to Hiiragi, "Well, I'm not gonna ask what it tasted like…but unfortunately, yes. And I do apologize if all of that was in vain."

Finally confirming what the clerk had said, Hiiragi hung her head down, completely and comically in defeat. We all chuckled a little bit nervously. As we all got out of the building, with Hiiragi looking comically depressed, one of us was the first to speak up.

"Aw, well." said Kurosawa-san, "You know what they say these days, "You win some, you lose some". Don't feel too bad about it."

Hiiragi sighed and said sadly, "Yeah…okay…"

Wow. Hearing Hiiragi speaking in complete depression like that is like she lost all her excitement and motives, and her happy-go-lucky usual self. Although, then again, I guess she does feel like she failed after today.

"You…gonna be okay?" I asked,

"Yeah…" said Hiiragi, sadly, "I'll manage…"

"So, what're we gonna do with that sword?" Yukitsuki-san asked.

I looked at the fake sword, Caliburn, for a moment. Well, if we can't sell it, I guess I might as well keep it. I nodded to myself and said, "Well, we can't really sell it, so I might as well keep it. Sure, it's just a prop, but it couldn't hurt to keep it as a decoration."

Hiiragi, hearing what I said, looked at me and asked, "You'll keep it…?"

"Why not?" I smiled, "Besides, even if it is fake, you did find it, and since no one wants it, I might as well take it off your hands."

"Really…?" Hiiragi asked.

"Absolutely." I said, "Better than throwing it away. Think of it as a gift, from you to me."

Hearing what I have said suddenly and quickly brighten herself back up as she cheered excitedly, "YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!"

"Wow, that was fast." said Kurosawa-san.

"Well, at least she's happy again." Asada-san smiled.

Hiiragi quickly run up to me before grabbing my hand and shaking super quickly and said real fast, "Yeah, Yuzzuchi, you should definitely keep it. It's totally yours now. It is a super perfect gift, and I should totally tell you, you should totally love it. It is the best gift of all time. It is super perfect for you. You are the greatest friend of all times, EVER!"

I chuckled a bit and said, "Well, glad to hear that."

"Okay!" Hiiragi cheered, "Let's go celebrate!" Hiiragi began to run off while passing by me as she shouted, "CELEBRATE!"

Suddenly, Hiiragi was stopped and grabbed in the back of her shirt, causing Hiiragi to comically gasped and making a comically confused look, as she was then being pulled back by Matou-sensei, who was smiling at Hiiragi as she said, "We still have some time left to come back to school, Hamasaki-san. We need to get back and make a report of what we were doing today, remember?"

Hearing what she said, Hiiragi made her usual funny reminded expression on her face and said, "Ah, you're right! I almost forgot!" Then, she quickly and comically ran to the opposite to where she was going while shouting, "WE GOTTA GO!" But before we saw her gone, she quickly ran back to me and said quickly, "Yuzzuchi, we'll celebrate later, okay?! GOTTA GO, BYE!" Then, she ran off to the path she was going again, and she kept on going and running until none of us could see her anymore.

Matou-sensei turned to us and said, "Well then, shall we head back now? My class we'll start soon if we make it back."

"Nah, I'd rather not." said Kurosawa-san, while scratching the back of his head, "I'm gonna go home today."

"Sorry, sensei." said Asada-san, apologetically, "I just remembered that I had something else to do, so I'm not going back today."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, before she turned to me and Yukitsuki-san, "What about you two?"

"Yeah, I'll go back to school with you." said Yukitsuki-san, "Besides, it's like you said, we need to make a report about what we did today."

I thought to myself for a moment and said, "No, I think I'll pass. After today, I feel like I should take a little break. I don't think I'll be focusing on class after what happened today. And besides, I can't take this prop sword back to school with me. if I did, the staff would confiscate it and dispose it." I then tried to joke, "Or worse, they'd probably confiscate me."

They laughed at my joke a bit, before Matou-sensei said, "Well, alright then. Since some of you decided to skip school today, I'll be sure to let the staff know that. In any case, I'll dismiss you three for today."

"Thank you, sensei." me, Kurosawa-san, and Asada-san said in unison.

"Let's go, Hisakawa-san." said Matou-sensei.

"Yes, Matou-sensei." said Yukitsuki-san, before she turned to me, "I'll see you back at home, Shindou-kun."

"Yeah, I'll see you home." I said.

I stood where I was as everyone then began to part ways, each of them going in different directions. Matou-sensei and Yukitsuki-san walking back to Homurahara Academy with the direction Hiiragi was running to, Kurosawa-san going in the opposite direction, while Asada-san going in the direction in front of me. We kept waving each other goodbye as I stood where I was and as they continued to walk away until I could no longer see them anymore. After I saw them gone, I looked at Caliburn again and smiled. After looking at it for a while, I decided to go back home to the apartment.

* * *

It was already close to evening and I was already back at home. I then looked at the crappy apartment that I was living in and began thinking to myself.

"…Maybe I should just clean up." I said, "I mean, Yukitsuki-san is the only one managing the apartment, and I'm the only resident here." I sighed and said, "Well, since I'm here, I might as well do it myself. I still have time before I go to work."

After I went in to my apartment room, I putted on my casual clothing. My casual clothes consisted of my usual blue t-shirt, a dark navy long pants, my usual blue sneakers, and around my waist was my dark blue jacket, consisted with sky blue sleeves and yellow trimming.

I looked around my apartment room for a moment, before I nodded and said, "Right. time to get to work." I then began working on taking out the trash and cleaning up any sorts of mess in the room. I first started with the trash bags that were on the floor, by carrying each of them outside before throwing them out to the dumpster. I continued throwing out the trashes before I work on the empty boxes that were also in the room.

For many who don't know about me, I didn't just move here because of family reasons, there was also another reason. I moved to Fuyuki so that I could be independent from my family. It was something that I decided a long time ago due to the promise that I made since childhood. For those who don't know, this is who I am, and where I came from.

* * *

Flashback: 7 years ago…

I was born from and raised in a wealthy family of talented artists, who uses their talent for painting and crafting and then selling what they created for money. My dad works as a CEO of his own company that creates and sells paintings and crafts, called "Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation". My mom works as a secretary for my dad during the weekdays, while at home she is a housewife during the weekends. I also have two older sisters: Akira Shindou, the eldest daughter of the Shindou family, she's a mature and caring older sister, and Megumi Shindou, the middle daughter of the Shindou family, and like Hiiragi, she's the cheerful and exciting older sister, but not very hyperactive like Hiiragi is. Both of them are heirs of our family's company, due to them having unique and natural talents for being true artists like our dad, something that he was proud of his girls about. But me? I…wasn't. I didn't have any real artistic talents like my older sisters do. I was just…normal, like everyone else is. I guess you could say that I was the runt of the family. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not like they don't love me as a family or anything, it's just that due to my lack of talent, they don't really expect anything much from me. Honestly, I was okay with it, because I didn't really expect much from myself either, nor did I ever showed any resentment or jealousy towards my sisters for being better talented people than I am. Either way, my relationship with my family was…well, it was as good as it could get. My mom treated me and raised me as her own son and loved me like any loving mothers would for their kids. My sisters, like any older sisters, would dote on me and tease me, and often play or hang around with me to keep me company. My dad…well, we have a stable relationship. It's not good, nor is it bad, just…stable. Slightly distant, but still stable as it can get. Oh, and, instead of referring to him as 'dad' like any kids would, I referred to him as 'sir' since he wanted me to refer to him as such, since I didn't have any talent as an artist and he didn't really expect much from me. In a way, I was sorta like a stranger to him. But, I was fine with it that way. I didn't really have anything to expect for him anyway, and I never took advantage of our family's wealth because I didn't want any money from my family, nor did I ever want anything in my life. Overall, it was a good life that I had.

Well, actually…even though I didn't have talent and I didn't expect much from myself for my family, there was one thing that I did want, and it wasn't something that money could buy, but something to do in my life. I wanted…no, I needed an objective, a purpose in my life, a reason for my existence here in this world. Back then, I wasn't sure what it was that I wanted to do, but I knew there was something out there that I wanted or needed to do in my life. I just had to search for it.

One day, my family and I went to Germany to meet with an old friend of my dad for two years. The reason was to get my sisters to understand foreign languages and for them to be able to interact with foreigners, even in business times. We met with my dad's friend at a mansion that almost resembled a castle around the hills. The friend of my dad from Germany was named Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart.

Mr. Everhart was a German foreigner, much different from us Japanese, and was slightly taller than us. He was about a few years older than my dad, and he had silver hair that had been gelled to the back, a mustache, and light blue eyes. Like my dad, he wears a business suit, but while dad's suit was black with white buttoned shirt and a red tie, his suit was white with blue buttoned shirt and a light blue tie. Next to him, he had a daughter who was the same age as me. Her name was Minna Eckstein Everhart.

Minna, like her dad, had long silver hair with a red ribbon tied behind her hair and light blue eyes. She wears a pure one-piece white dress with the skirt that reaches all the way down to her ankle, and white shoes.

At the time when we were coming over to meet and visit Mr. Everhart, my dad was the one speaking German while doing the introduction to my family, from my mom to my sisters. When Mr. Everhart first noticed me, he asked my father in German, "Oh, ist das dein Sohn (Oh, is this your son)?"

Dad looked at me for a moment, wondering what he meant, before he said in German, "Ah, ja (Ah, yes)." He then placed his hand on my back to move me forward as he introduced me to him in German, "Das ist mein Sohn, Yuzuru Shindou (This is my son, Yuzuru Shindou)."

Since I didn't know how to say hello to him in German just like dad did, I merely bowed to him as a means of showing hello and respect. When I looked at him, he was giving me a warm smile to me, before he looked back at my dad and asked in German, "Hat dieser Junge irgendwelche künstlerischen Talente wie deine beiden Töchter (Does this boy have any artistic talents like your two daughters)?"

My dad sighed disappointedly and said in German, "Nein, leider nicht. Meinem Sohn fehlt als Künstler für mein Geschäft in Japan jede Art von Potential (No, sadly, he doesn't. My son lacks any sorts of potential as an artist for my business in Japan)."

Even though I didn't understand what my dad was saying, I could tell he was talking about me and my lack of potential. Honestly, if I understood, I would feel a bit disheartened, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

After hearing them talked for a little bit, Mr. Everhart got my attention by speaking to me in a language I was familiar with, saying to me in Japanese, "It is nice to meet you, Yuzuru. My name is Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart."

"O-Oh!" I said, surprised, before I bowed again and said a little nervously, "N-N-Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Yuzuru."

Mr. Everhart chuckled a bit before he said to my dad in German, "Nun, er ist auf jeden Fall ein netter Junge. Ich denke, du hast ihn gut erzogen (Well, he's certainly a nice boy. I think you raised him well)."

"Nun, nicht genau (Well, not exactly)." dad responded in German, "Es ist meine Familie, die ihm Gesellschaft geleistet hat, während ich immer auf der Arbeit bin. Ich habe ihm wegen seines Talentmangels kaum Beachtung geschenkt (It's my family that kept him company while I'm always at work. I hardly paid him any attention because of his lack of talent)."

"Aha (I see)." said Mr. Everhart in German.

"Obwohl er trotz seines fehlenden Potenzials immer noch als mein Sohn gilt (Although, despite his lack of potential, he's still considered my son)." said dad in German, "Und er ist immer noch ein Teil unserer Familie (And he is still a part of our family)."

"Aha (I see)." said Mr. Everhart in German, "Nun, wenn wir von Familie sprechen, da Sie mich allen dreien Ihrer Kinder vorgestellt haben, möchte ich Ihnen meine Tochter vorstellen, mein einziges Kind, Minna (Well, speaking of family, since you've introduced me to all three of your children, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, my one and only child, Minna)." He then turned to his daughter and said in German, "Mach schon, Minna. Sag Hallo zu allen (Go on, Minna. Say hello to everyone)."

Minna, who had been hiding behind her father, shyly moved up and said shyly in German, "H-H-Hallo (H-H-Hello)."

"Oh Hallo (Oh, hello)." said Akira-neesan in German, who learned a little bit of it from dad.

"Hallo, kleine Minna (Hello there, little Minna)." said Megumi-neesan, cheerfully in German, who also learned a little bit of it from dad.

Mom just simply nodded and smiled at her.

Then, after Minna bowed to each of my family members, she turned to me and we were looking at each other face-to-face, and we both looked at each other in amazement as if it was the first time we saw each other. Dad placed a hand on my shoulder and said to me in Japanese, "Go on, Yuzuru. Go and introduce yourself to her."

"Mach schon, Minna (Go on, Minna)." said Mr. Everhart in German, "Sei nicht schüchtern. Sag einfach Hallo und stell dich vor (Don't be shy. Just say hello and introduce yourself)."

When we first laid eyes on each other trying to introduce ourselves, we were…well, we were mutually shy with one another. We were 10-year-old kids and we never properly talked to each other very well, and because we were both foreigners and we spoke different languages, it created a communication barrier between us.

"U-U-Umm…" I said, nervously, "H-H-H-H-Hello. U-Uh…m-my name…is uh…m-my name is…Y-Yuzuru…Shindou…uh…i-it's…u-um…i-i-it's very nice to…m-meet you, M-M-M-Minna…"

"U-U-Um... (U-U-Umm…)" said Minna, nervously in German, "H-H-H-H-Hallo. U-Uh...m-mein Name...ist uh...m-mein Name i-i-ist...M-M-Minna...E-Eckstein...E-E-Everhart...uh...ich-es ist...du-ähm...ii-es ist sehr nett zu...m-meet du...uh...Y-Yuzuru... (H-H-H-H-Hello. U-Uh…m-my name…is uh…m-my name i-i-is…M-M-Minna…E-Eckstein…E-E-Everhart…uh…i-it's…u-um…i-i-it's very nice to…m-meet you…uh…Y-Y-Y-Yuzuru…)"

"U-Uh…" I said, nervously, before I began bowing and greeted nervously, "Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you."

"U-Uh ... (U-Uh…)" she said, just as nervously as I was in German, before she began bowing the same way I was doing and greet nervously in German, "Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen (Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you)."

I honestly didn't know what else to say, as I was panicking in my thoughts as I thought to myself, "Whoa! Yikes! What do I do?! I don't know what to say to her! I've never talked to a girl my age before! The only girls that I had ever talked to are my older sisters! And worst of all, I can't understand what she's saying!"

I lifted my head to look at Minna a little bit, and to my surprise, she was just as nervous and panicking as I was and was probably thinking the same thing that I was thinking. Then, just like I was doing, she lifted her head to look at me a little bit. When we made eye contact, we both suddenly blushed, and out of panic, we both bowed again as we said to each other loudly.

"I'm sorry!" I said, loudly out of nervousness, "I don't speak German!"

"Es tut mir Leid (I'm sorry)!" she said, just as loudly as I was out of nervousness, "Ich spreche kein Japanisch (I don't speak Japanese)!"

After hearing what we said, we looked at each other again, and again, we blushed at each other as we made eye contact. We stopped bowing to each other and looked away from each other with a nervous smile, as we ended our…well, nervous introduction, saying to each other, both in Japanese and in German, "Nice to meet you. / Schön dich zu treffen (Nice to meet you)."

Everyone else around us who had been watching our awkward display of interaction with each other were either giggling, chuckling, or sighing at us.

"Aw, it's so cute ." Megumi-neesan giggled.

"It's like they're in a marriage arrangement." Akira-neesan giggled.

We both blushed even harder from hearing my sister said. Honestly, if there really was a marriage arrangement for 10-year-old kids like us, we'd both die of embarrassment. Anyway, afterwards, me and my family were given a room for each pair to stay for the rest of our two years in Germany and made ourselves at home: two of my sisters were in one room together, my parents were in another, while me, I was…in a room by myself, not that I didn't mind. I was used to being in a room by myself anyway. Plus, I didn't want to disturb either of my family members for anything minor.

* * *

The next day, while my parents and my sisters were discussing their plans with Mr. Everhart on their stay here in Germany while thinking of learning to understand and how to speak German, I decided to wonder around the mansion by myself for a bit. Since what they were doing was all about business, I decided to leave them so that I wouldn't disturb them over their plan. Plus, I wanted to look around the mansion and get lost in it a bit.

All I mostly did was wonder around their mansion and walked around the hallways of windows and doors. The walls also had many beautiful and very nice paintings of different art creations, some of them I recognize were made by either my dad or my sisters, and beautiful vases that were on top of each pedestal. I then found myself in Mr. Everhart's office. In his office was filled with books that were all set on shelves, both upstairs and downstairs, each shelf had books with the same colors that represents what subjects they were talking about. Red for history, blue for math, green for science, black for astronomy, and so on. I was pretty amazed that Mr. Everhart had so many books around his office when I looked around. Then, I noticed that there was one book on his desk that was different from the others. Curiously, I walked towards the desk where the book was on. Since I was short, and I couldn't reach for the book, I went behind the desk to get on his chair and then get up to see the book there. Once I saw the book, I reached out towards it and took the book, and read the title that said, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King". It was a children's book made to be read for children. I took the book and looked at it for a bit out of curiosity. I guess Mr. Everhart must've bought it somewhere from another country or so, as this children's book wasn't written in German, but in English. Before I could open it to read it, however, I heard foot steps outside of the room. Curiously, I placed the book back on the desk and went out to see who it was.

As I opened the door and left the room, I turned to see Minna running around the hallway. Wondering where she was running off to, I decided to follow her. As I continued to follow her down the corridors of the mansion's hallway, I saw that she was going out to the door, going outside. I quickly opened the door that she exited out of and looked around outside. It was cold and was beginning to snow outside. I mean, it wasn't cold enough for anyone to put on some winter clothing, but it was still a bit cold. And since it was snowing, it meant that Minna probably went outside to play and see the snow fall. Even though I didn't need to, I decided to go put on winter clothing just in case if the coldness gets worse. I needed to find where Minna was going anyway. Once I putted on my jacket, I went back to the door she came out of and went outside to search for her.

I walked and looked around everywhere as I could, walking away not too far from the mansion. Then, I found her, standing on top of a cliff of the hill and standing right next to an old tree, looking out in the unknown distance as the cold wind blows, letting her silver hair flow out by the wind. In my eyes, she was…wow, beautiful. I guess it was probably because I was still a kid, but I never knew that foreigners like her would be that different from us yet still beautiful. To be honest, I just…couldn't keep my eyes off her. As I continued to look at her, the minutes that I spent felt like hours, as if time itself was stopping for both of us. Then, before I realized it, Minna slowly turned around and saw me. we both stood where we were, and we looked at each other eye-to-eye, my dark brown eyes and her light blue eyes contacted with one another, as the cold wind blew passed us, not even bothered by the cold as we were busy being enchanted by each other.

Suddenly, before she began to move to approach me, something beneath her began to crack, and suddenly she was starting to lose balance.

"Huh?" I thought, as I began to worry, "Oh, no. I have a bad feeling…!"

Before either of us knew it, the floor of the cliff broke, and Minna screamed as she suddenly began to fall. Then, out of nowhere, something inside of me snapped, and out of fear for her life, I began to run to quickly catch her from falling. I ran up towards the cliff where she was falling, jumped off the cliff before I caught her hand with mine as I caught something to hold onto with the other. I held onto a tree branch that was stable enough to hold onto us. I held onto both the branch and Minna as much as possible, as I looked down to see below us. To my fear, it was far down to the other ground. Though it was far down enough to kill both us, there were other spots and bumps where we could roll over or bump into to make it less likely in case we did fall, making it so the only problem would be for either one of us to get injured if we weren't careful enough.

Minna was fearfully screaming and was screaming out things in German that I couldn't understand, although I could guess that she was scared and was telling me not to let her fall. I held onto her as tightly as I could, making sure that I wouldn't, and letting her know that it would be okay. If I couldn't make her understand in words, then I had to make her understand in action. I looked up at the branch again, making sure that it was strong enough, before I quickly had an idea. I looked back down at Minna and, with all the strength that I had with my arm, I slowly pulled her up so that she could reach up to that branch. Seeing what I was doing, Minna quickly lifted her free hand to grab onto my arm before pulling herself up towards me as she quickly grabbed onto my shirt before she goes to the branch that I was lifting her towards to. As soon as I got her close enough, she grabbed onto it, and we were facing each other while hanging on to our dear lives. As we held on to that branch, we looked at each other eye-to-eye. Even though we were (possibly) in the most dangerous and life-threatening situation in our lives, I just…couldn't help but feel mesmerized about her. I guess she was too, from the look in her eyes.

Minna, despite what was happening to us, smiled and said in German, "Danke (Thank you)."

Even though she spoke to me in a different language, I smiled back and said, "You're welcome."

Despite the communication barrier between us, we both smiled at each other, feeling happy for what we did. But then suddenly, our moment was cut short, as the branch was suddenly beginning to break. Suddenly, after seeing what was about to happen, we began to feel more frightened.

"Oh, no!" I shouted, "It's gonna break!"

Minna was then screaming in fear, not wanting the branch to break or to let go to fall. Minna then looked at me in the eyes, tears were already coming out of her eyes. I could tell from the look in her eyes, that she was scared of falling, and begging me to help her. To be honest, I was too. But, I tried my best not to show it, being as brave as I can so that I could reassure her that everything will be fine, even though I knew it wouldn't. and even if we did call out for help, no one would be able to see nor hear us crying for help, as the mansion that our family was living in was afar, and everyone was inside so they couldn't hear us screaming. Even though I knew I couldn't speak German very well than my family, and that I wouldn't understand her, I gave her my brave face as I said to her in German that I only knew from Akira-nee, "Mach dir keine Sorgen, Minna (Don't worry, Minna) …"

Minna looked at me completely surprised that I could speak German to her, though it wasn't very well. Despite the strains that I was going through holding on to the branch for a little too long, I then continued saying in German, "Alles...wird gut (Everything...will be okay)."

Minna looked at me for a moment, still surprised what I just said to her, before her expression softened, and she smiled trustingly at me, believing the words that I said to her despite the situation we were in. But then, suddenly, the branch began to break even further, and suddenly Minna was beginning to slip off from the branch. Seeing that she was slipping, Minna began to panic and scream for dear life, and crying for help in German, even though no one could come help. As she was beginning to slip from holding on too long, the branch we were holding onto was going to break, hinting that it couldn't hold on any longer. Then, within seconds, Minna's hands that were holding on to the branch slipped off, and she began to fall as she screamed. Seeing her falling from the cliff, falling towards her end, I quickly let go of the branch that was already broken down, and jumped forward towards her and caught her in both my arms as we both fell off the cliff together.

As we fell, I grabbed onto Minna as tight as I could, before I moved us both towards the rocky wall and we began to bump ourselves over bumps and began to roll over down the cliff. We kept rolling and rolling down the cliff, while I held onto Minna for dear life, keeping her safe in my arms from any harm, before suddenly, I felt something hit the back of my head, and I blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, the first thing that I saw was the upper wall of the room, and I found myself lying on a bed with bandages covering my head. I felt slight pain from both my head and my body as I tried to get up. Once I got up, I saw both of my big sisters sitting to my right side sleeping. They must've been waiting for me to wake up.

"…Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan." I spoke up, getting them both to wake up.

As soon as they did, and the moment they looked at me, seeing that I was finally awake, they began to smile happily and cried out happily, "Yuzu-chan (Megumi-neesan)/Yu-chan (Akira-neesan)!"

They then went up to me and embraced me in a tight hug. They were really happy to see me awake and okay again, but due to the pain I was going through, I groaned, signaling them that it still hurt.

They noticed this and released me from their embrace and Megumi-neesan spoke up and said apologetically, "Ahh, sorry, Yuzu-chan! We were just so happy, we couldn't help it!"

"We're sorry, Yu-chan." said Akira-neesan, apologetically.

"Ah, no, it's okay." I said, before I asked, "But, what happened to me?"

"Hmm?" said Megumi-neesan, questioningly, before she said, "Don't you remember what happened, Yuzu-chan?"

I looked at my sister confusingly a bit, before I thought for a moment as I tried to remember what happened. Then, suddenly it came back to me as I said, "Ahh, that's right! I remember! I was…at the hill and I saw Minna there, and then…she fell, and I went to save her, and…we were holding onto a branch before we fell off together, and…" Then, the thought of Minna came back to me and I asked them worriedly, "Minna! Is Minna alright?!"

"Minna?" said Akira-neesan, wondering what I meant before she realized it and said reassuringly, "Ah, don't worry, Yu-chan. Minna's okay. And it's all thanks to you for rescuing her."

"R-Really?" I asked.

"Yes." said Akira-neesan, "Thanks to you, you and Minna only fell only half way down from the cliff, and she was safe and sound without any worries, and you only suffered a head injury from hitting your head against a rock."

"Yup!" said Megumi-neesan, cheerfully, "And Minna called on us to help the moment we found you two. You were hurt really bad, so we had to be careful on carrying you back. Thankfully, though, you weren't bleeding from your head to death!" She then stuck her tongue out and said, "That would've been bad."

"I see." I said, "Umm…how long was I out for?"

"About a week and a half." Akira-neesan answered, "Me and Megumi were taking care of you while you were out."

"I see." I said, "Was…anyone worried about me?"

"Yeah." said Megumi-neesan, "Mom was worried that she couldn't really sleep well. Mr. Everhart was just as worried as we were about you. And dad was…well, you know, dad. I mean, he was kinda worried, just not as worried as we were."

"Yes, father wasn't as worried as we were about you." said Akira-neesan, "But, he was worried enough that he had to cancel our lesson in German to let us take care of you."

"Oh." I realized, "Right. I forgot, you both had lessons to take in speaking German." I then looked down and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan. Because of me, you…"

Before I could say any further, both of my sisters hugged me as a sign of comfort and reassurance, before Akira-neesan said, "No, it's okay, Yu-chan. You're a part of this family, so of course we'd worry about you."

"That's right, Yuzu-chan." said Megumi-neesan, "You're our little brother, and we'd do anything for our little brother. I mean, even skipping some lessons doesn't bother us if it means caring for you."

"Onee-sans…" I said.

Both of my sisters let go of me as Akira-neesan placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled as she said, "Don't worry about a thing, Yu-chan. We're family. And even if you're not as talented as we are, we still consider you a family. Me, Megumi, mother. And I'm sure father does, as well, even if he doesn't expect much from you."

Megumi-neesan nodded happily and said cheerfully, "Mm-hmm! So, don't you worry about a thing, Yuzu-chan! Me and Akira-nee will always look out for you!"

I looked at my sisters as they both smiled at me, showing that they truly meant what they said. Seeing them smile at me and saying those kind words to me, I couldn't help but smile back and say to them, "Thank you, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan."

They both nodded and smiled as Akira-nee said, "Good. That's our little brother."

Megumi-neesan then patted me on the head and said, "Well, get some rest, little brother. We're gonna leave you here."

I nodded and said, "Okay."

Then, a door opened, and dad entered the room. When he turned to us, Akira-neesan and Megumi-neesan turned to him and bowed before Akira-neesan spoke first, "Hello, father."

"Akira. Megumi." dad acknowledged them, before he turned to me and said, "Yuzuru."

I bowed to him and said, "Um…hello, sir."

"So, how're you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm alright, sir." I said, "I just woke up, and I still feel a little pain, but I'm okay, and I have Akira-neesan and Megumi-neesan keeping me company, sir. If…it's alright."

He looked at me for a moment, before he nodded and said with a slight smile, "Good. That's good to hear, Yuzuru. Your mother was worried about you for a while, so I decided to come check up on you. Hearing you say that you're okay, I'll be sure to let your mother know. For now, get some rest for today. You'll need it."

I bowed and said, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

He nodded and said, "Oh, and…before I forget, Mr. Everhart wanted me to give this to you, as a token of appreciation for saving his daughter." Dad then, brought out a book and handed it to me, and I read the title that said, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King". It was the same children's book that I found in Mr. Everhart's studies. I looked at dad with a look of surprise as he said, "He wants you to keep it, and that he hopes you enjoy it."

Then, he turned back to my sisters as he said, "Girls, Mr. Everhart wants to meet with you two in his studies. I believe it's time we get back onto your lessons on speaking German. Be there as soon as you two are ready. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father." said Akira-neesan.

"Right away, dad." said Megumi-neesan.

"Good." dad nodded, "I'll be waiting for you two as well. See you both then."

"Okay." both of my sisters said.

Dad nodded before he began to leave the room. Before my sisters would leave, Akira-neesan gave me a notebook and said, "This is my notebook on speaking German, just in case if you want to learn to speak German. We'll be leaving you here now."

"Rest well, Yuzu-chan." said Megumi-neesan.

I nodded and said, "Okay, I will. Bye."

"Bye." they both said, before they left the room, leaving me alone to rest.

I then turned my attention on the book that Mr. Everhart gave me. Seeing the book in front of me and reading the title of the story, I couldn't help but feel…intrigued by it, and out of interest, want to read it. I reached out to open the book to read, but before I could, I heard a door opened. I turned to see who it was, and to my surprise, it was Minna who came by to visit me.

"Minna…" I said, surprised, "What're you doing here?"

Minna didn't say anything as she stood there and looked at me. I then realized she still can't understand me, so I went to the notebook Akira-neesan gave me to try to translate what I just said.

"Sorry." I said, apologetically and a little awkwardly, even though I knew she still wouldn't understand what I was saying, "I forgot that you still can't speak Japanese. I'll, uh…try to speak in something that you can understand. Just, uh…hold on a moment, okay?"

But before I could look into the notes to find the right words and say something she could understand, Minna approached me and placed both her hands onto mine as she then said to me, slowly but surely, in the language I could understand, "No. It's…okay. You…don't…need to…do that."

"H-Huh?" I said, suddenly surprised that she could speak Japanese, "Wait, you can…understand me?"

Minna nodded before she said, "A-A little…"

Before I could ask when she learned to speak my language, she said slowly and nervously, "U-Um…y-your…big sisters…t-taught me...to speak…while…you were…s-sleeping."

Ohh. I guess that made sense. But why would she want that?

"Um…" I said, "Why did you want to learn to speak Japanese?"

"Um…" she said, slowly and nervously, "I-It's…because…I-I…I…I want…to thank…you…for saving…me…from before."

"Oh." I said, as I realized what she meant, "You mean when we were falling from the cliff?"

Minna nodded in confirmation. She then spoke slowly and nervously again, "And…um…well, I…I…I want…I want to…b-be f-friends...w-with…with you."

Suddenly, I became surprised by what she was telling me. She…wanted to speak Japanese…so that she could be…my friend. I just…couldn't believe it.

"Minna…" I said, still in surprise by what she was saying.

Then, she asked me slowly and nervously, "U-Um…c-can I…?"

I looked at her for a moment, looking at her in her blue eyes with my own eyes. Her eyes were…sparkling beautifully, showing me that she truly wants to become friends with me, showing in whatever short of time she had while I was gone worked very hard to get where she is now, even if it was a little. She really tried to learn to speak Japanese, because she wanted to do it for me. Well, to be honest, I couldn't help but feel happy about this, because I was the same way. To be honest, I wanted to be her friend too, even if we were both different people from difference worlds and spoke different languages.

I smiled at her, and then, with the notebook Akira-neesan gave me, I said to her in German, just as slowly as she was when she was speaking to me in Japanese, "Na sicher. Ich...werde...dein...Freund sein, Minna (Of course. I…will…be…your…friend, Minna)."

Minna looked at me with a shocked look on her face from what I had said to her, before she then made a smile of happiness with tears of joy, and out of sheer happiness, she came onto me and gave me a hug, though she was careful enough to not hurt me due to my injuries.

"Danke (Thank you)." she said in German.

I smiled at her and hugged her back, before saying in German, "Gern geschehen, Minna (You're welcome, Minna)."

That was how me and Minna became childhood friends. Little did I knew, though, she was going to become someone very precious to me, the very reason for my purpose.

* * *

Present day:

I was done throwing out the trashes and cleaning up my room, I looked around to see what it looked like for a moment. Looking at the room now, it looks like it has free space for me to move around in. Aside from the dirty floor, everything seems perfectly cleared out and clean. I nodded in satisfaction before I began working on cleaning the dirty floor with a mop that I got from the apartment cleaner's office.

After I was done, I went out of my apartment room to look at the other apartment rooms. Each room were still dirty and had a whole pile of garbage and empty boxes. I decided that I should stop for today and do the rest later and I put away the cleaning tools that I took from the cleaner's office. I then looked at the clock.

"Well," I said, "I guess it's time for me to go to work, I guess."

I went back to my apartment room to get changed to go to the place that I was working at. I work at a coffee shop for part-time work called Ahnenerbe, where it's located near the large bridge in Fuyuki City. Not much is known about the shop, but it's a good coffee shop where people could hang out at. It opens 7 days a week, from 9:00AM to 7:00PM during weekdays and 10:00AM to 6:00PM in weekends and holidays. Normally, I'd work on weekends, but today, since I have some free time now, I can go to work and at least do some evening chores.

Before I begin to leave, I found something that was on my desk, a book. And not just any book, it's the same book that got from Germany when I was still a kid 7 years ago; the story about the legendary king named King Arthur. It's the same book that I kept with me for a long time, and I still hold onto it and treasure it, even now.

I smiled at it and decided to take it with me to read. Honestly, no matter how many times I read it, I never get tired of it. I know it's silly, but it's true. Of course, there were other King Arthur stories that I've read over the years, but this King Arthur book would always be my favorite.

I left my apartment after making sure I locked the door, before I opened my book and began to read it as I walked my way to work. I wasn't worried about getting lost since I already know my way around town already thanks to my friends helping me.

"Once upon a time," I began reading, "There was the Once and Future King…"

As I continued reading, another flashback about my childhood came to me.

* * *

Flashback: 6 years ago…

It had already been a year since my recovery from my injury, and a year since Minna and I became childhood friends. Over the times we spent together in Germany, we were growing closer and closer together, when we play together, when we read together, when we looked around together. We even learned to speak the languages that we use in our respective countries from each other; me speaking German, and Minna speaking Japanese. Oh, and…Minna would call me by the nickname, "Yuzu-kun" instead of my actual first name, because despite learning enough Japanese from me, it was kinda a little hard for her to call me by that, so she calls me "Yuzu-kun" to make it a little easier, which I didn't mind at all, really.

Today, we were reading the book, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King", together. We've read the book so many times that we lost count, and we kept on reading it without ever getting tired. The story about King Arthur was so amazing that even we couldn't stop talking about it. Right now, we were at the part about the Battle of Camelot, where a battle between the legendary King Arthur and the Treacherous Knight, Mordred, was taking place.

"…and so, the battle continued on until there was only King Arthur and the Treacherous Mordred." I read.

"Whah!" said Minna, amazed.

"Mordred, the Treacherous Knight," I read, "Had the upper hand when he knocked away Excalibur from King Arthur's hands, rendering him helpless."

"Oh, no!" said Minna, shocked.

"However," I read, "King Arthur did not give up, as he held another weapon in his hand; the spear of the heaven, Rhongomyniad! And with it, King Arthur defeated Mordred with all his might, putting an end to the Treacherous Knight and his treachery for good!"

"Yay!" Minna cheered.

We continued to read the story until we reached the very end, where King Arthur dies lying in the tree, passing away as he made his eternal peace. Though sad, it was also a happy ending for the story, because in the story, the people of Britain were at true peace, and everyone lived happily ever after.

"The End." I finished reading, before I closed the book.

"That was an amazing story," Minna giggled, "No matter how many times we've read it, it's still a great story."

"Yeah." I said, "I really love this King Arthur story. King Arthur is an amazing legendary hero who led and protected Britain."

"Me, too." Minna smiled, "I love the story about King Arthur and knights."

I looked at Minna and asked, "Minna, what is it you like about King Arthur and the knights in the story?"

"Everything!" Minna happily answered, "I love everything about King Arthur and the knights, Yuzu-kun! They're strong and brave, and they're very noble people who would do anything to protect everyone!"

I smiled and said, "Yeah…they really are."

"Hey, Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Let's play a game of knight and princess like we always do."

I chuckled a bit before saying, "You really love playing that game, don't you?"

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded, "I love playing it, because I get to be a princess saved by a brave knight, just like you saved me before, remember?"

"Yeah." I said, "I do."

"So, Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Let's play knight and princess."

I smiled and said, "Okay, Minna, let's play." But before we could, I then thought about something and said, "Although, it would be boring with just the two of us…"

Minna realized what I meant and said, "Yeah, you're right…it does seem kinda lonely with just us…maybe we need another friend?"

"Maybe…" I said.

"In that case," I heard, "Let me play with you guys, too!"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Minna, did you say something?"

"Hmm?" said Minna, "No, I didn't say anything?"

"Huh?" I said, confused.

Then, I heard a giggle and heard someone say, "I said, let me play with you, too!"

"Huh?" said Minna, confused, "Was that…a voice?"

"Wait, you heard it, too?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded.

"C'mon!" we heard, "Let's play together!"

"Huh?" I said, as I looked around confused, "Who said that?"

"I don't know." said Minna, just as confused as I was.

"Over here!" a voice called.

We looked to where we heard the voice was calling, and to our surprise, there was another girl standing there, smiling at us.

The girl in front of us had blonde hair that is tied with a black ribbon into a ponytail, with one strain of hair sticking out as a cowlick, and big bright green eyes. She was dressed in a white dress with black trims, a black ribbon around her chest, black shoes with white stockings, two white silk armband sleeves, and white gloves.

We were really taken by surprise that there was a girl standing there right in front of us, smiling at us while saying we should play together. Well, we say that there was a girl there, but she was actually imaginary. Me and Minna were the only ones who could see her.

After a few moments of silence, I spoke first by asking, "Who…who are you, miss?"

"Me?" she said, before she realized what I asked and said sheepishly, "Ah, sorry! I probably should introduce myself." Then, with a big smile on her face, she introduced herself, "I'm Lily! I'm your imaginary friend who's come to play with you two!"

"Our…imaginary friend?" we asked, surprised by what she was saying.

Lily, who approached us, grabbed our hands with hers and said happily, "Yup, that's right! Nobody else but you two can see me, because we're friends."

"Friends…" I said.

"Three of us…" said Minna.

"Yup!" Lily smiled, "So, since we're friends, let's play together! Three of us!"

Hearing her say that, me and Minna couldn't help but just smile at Lily's words and we both happily said, "Okay!"

Me, Minna, and our imaginary friend Lily would then go outside together, either playing as knights saving the princess, or running around the grassy floors, with smiles on our faces.

In all honesty, we didn't even care if she was just imaginary. To me, to Minna, and to Lily, this friendship was real for both of us, because we were very good friends. No. We were best friends. No matter what we did, or where we go, or how we played, or how we ran and smiled together, or even when we read the King Arthur story, the three of us…were always together, with nothing but smiles on our faces.

* * *

Present day:

After I was done reading the book, I found myself arrived at Ahnenerbe. Well, it's time for me to go to work. I opened the door to let myself in and said, "Good evening."

The ones that works here turned to see me at the door. They were the two staff members who were part-timers and my seniors, Chikagi Katsuragi-senpai and Hibiki Hibino-senpai. Katsuragi-senpai is the one with long green hair that is tied into pigtails and green eyes, while Hibino-senpai is the one with short orange hair with a strain of cowlick hair and orange eyes. Both of them were older than me and wears maid outfits, with Katsuragi-senpai wearing a green skirt and Hibino-senpai wearing an orange skirt.

"Ah, Shin-chin!" said Hibino-senpai, with her usual happy and friendly smile, "Welcome~!"

"Good evening, Shindou." said Katsuragi-senpai, "I didn't think you'd be here today. You'd normally only come to work on weekends. Did you skip school or something?"

"Just for today." I said, "Let's just say something good happened that I had to leave early. Don't worry, though, my teacher let me off the hook."

"I see." said Katsuragi-senpai, before she made a small smile and added, "Well, good for you. And, good for us, too. We could use an extra hand."

"So, what should I do today?" I asked.

"Just the usual." said Katsuragi-senpai, "We're not that busy today now, so you just have to pick up the dishes and clean the tables and all that."

"Got it, thanks." I said.

Katsuragi-senpai nodded and went back to whatever she was doing.

"Have fun, Shin-chin~!" Hibino-senpai cheered, as she then went back to whatever she was doing, as well.

Then, I went off to work with picking up dishes and cleaning tables.

By the way, this job was given to me 3 weeks ago, exactly after I my first day of Homurahara Academy. It was after school on my way home that I happened to have stumbled upon Ahnenerbe and saw that the shop had a sign that said, "Ahnenerbe: We Are Hiring!". Out of curiosity, I let myself in and took a look around the coffee shop, and I was pretty amazed by it, not just how it looked, but also how it felt homey. The inside of the shop is somber due to the limiting of electric light to a minimum. The atmosphere inside is not bad, with floor and walls bringing a German style to mind and various antiques decorating it. After enough looking around, called out to whoever was hiring, and that was went I met the staff members of Ahnenerbe, including Katsuragi-senpai and Hibino-senpai. The staff members who works at Ahnenerbe were…um…uh…well, let's just say unique people. A little strange, but unique. When I told them that I found the sign that said that they were hiring, they said that they were indeed hiring and then asked if they could hire me to work for them. Me? Well, I accepted the job since I was kinda thinking of finding a job while I was still in Fuyuki City. Plus, I actually like the place, it felt nice.

I don't know much about the staff members or the manager of Ahnenerbe, George, other than the fact that he's a specialist in Italian cuisine and his customers are said to like the pies he bakes. But, when I first met Katsuragi-senpai, she was very hostile towards me like I was a threat to her or something, and she didn't even trust me in anyway whatsoever at all, and it only took a while until she was getting use to me as I was being a nice guy to her and was giving off good impressions for her, and eventually she was able to talk to me normally, both as a friend and a fellow employee. And, Hibino-senpai was…well, you know, a happy-friendly-go-lucky Hibino-senpai who was okay with me and was the only employer who would talk to me in a friendly matter.

While we worked together, they told me that they worked here 10 years ago when they were still in high school, just like I am now, before they graduated and decided to leave for studying in college. Eventually, they graduated from university together and work on their future careers, but then they decided to come back to work at Ahnenerbe again, just so they could live in peace and quiet. Plus, Ahnenerbe felt like home to them. I know that feeling well. Whenever I looked around the shop, it felt like I was in Germany again, where I made so many memories.

Yeah, very good memories…with Minna and Lily.

* * *

Flashback: 5 years ago…

A beautiful full moon, surrounded by stars, was shining down on us in the night sky. Everyone was sleeping for the night, except for me, Minna, and Lily, as we were sitting outside, holding each other's hands, me holding Minna's hand, Lily holding Minna's other hand, while looking at the beautiful moon looking down upon us. As we watch the moon shine bright at night, we talked about how our time together felt so long, yet time flies fast for us, and…how we wished this time we had would last forever. Tomorrow would be the day that I had to go back to Japan, as my sisters were finished with their lessons in learning German. Me and my family will be going back to our usual lives again when we return to Japan.

"2 years…" I said.

"Mm-hmm." said Minna.

"Yeah." said Lily, "Time files by quick."

"Mm-hmm." I said, saddened, "We had so much fun together since we first met. I don't…I don't wanna leave, but…"

"Me, too." said Minna, as she held my hand tightly, "I wish you could stay."

"Yeah…" I said, "Me, too…"

We remained silent for a while, until Lily broke it by saying cheerfully, "Hey, you two, don't feel so sad! Cheer up! You'll both see each other again! You just have to wait until that big day arrive!"

"Lily…" I said.

"As for me," said lily, with a sad smile, "I can't really stay with either of you two. I'm only imaginary, and I always come and then go. Imaginary friends can't always last forever whenever children of your age get older and older, and even I'm no exception." Lily then brightened her smile again as she said cheerfully, "That's why, you two should see each other again someday, because you two will be around with each other!"

"Lily…" said Minna.

"Don't worry about me, Yuzuru, Minna." Lily smiled at both of us, "No matter how far away we are from each other, we'll never be apart, because we'll always have each other in our hearts. We're best friends forever, after all."

"Lily…" I said, taking in all the words she just said, before I smiled back at Lily and said, "Yeah, you're right, Lily! We're best friends, and we'll always stay together!"

"Mm-hmm!" Minna happily nodded, "Friends forever, even in our hearts!"

"Yup!" Lily smiled.

With that, we laughed together one more time, before I brought out my King Arthur book and said, "Well, how about we read this book together, one last time together?"

Minna and Lily gasped happily and cheered, "Yeah!"

Then, after reading the book together for the last time, the three of us continued to look at the beautiful night sky and the bright moon shining upon us. The stars in the night sky were sparkling around the skies as the moon glowed in bluish-white light. It was…beautiful.

We were silent as we looked at the sky and the moon, before Minna said, "I wish…that I had a hero who will protect me someday."

I looked at Minna as she said while looking at the moon and the sky, "A hero, just like in the King Arthur stories, where a brave knight fights to protect people, always there to save someone special when they needed it most. A hero who will always be there to protect someone he loves when the one special to that hero needs it. I want a hero who will protect me like a princess from those fairy tales."

"Minna…" I said, silently.

"I love the King Arthur story." said Minna, "Because, King Arthur was a great king and a noble knight who did everything to protect and lead his kingdom, not just because it was his duty, but because…his home of Great Britain and his people were very important to him. He did the very best that he could to protect his country and his people because they were precious to him, even until the very end."

"Yeah." said Lily, "Everyone has someone or something very precious that they held dear, and anyone would do anything to protect those that they care about, even if it's impossible to do. In other words, you want someone to be there for you because you're special to them, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Minna smiled, not taking her eyes off the moonlit sky, "I really wish that there would be someone who would become my hero to come save me whenever I'm in danger, someone that I could trust would protect me forever."

I looked at Minna as she stared at the moonlit sky. The way she looked now…she was truly beautiful as the moon shined down upon her, her silver hair glowing from the light of the full moon, her blue eyes sparkling from the light of the stars. This girl…Minna…she was truly a precious girl that...I…I want to protect. In that moment, I realized that she was someone truly precious to me, that she was someone that I want to keep safe, to protect her from harm, to save her if and whenever she's in danger. Minna was the one person, I truly…truly cherished. In that moment, I knew what my purpose was now.

I looked at the moonlit sky and remained quiet for a moment, before I said to her, the very words that would give me a reason to live, a purpose in my life, "I'll be your hero."

Minna gasped from hearing what I said, and she slowly turned to look at me, as I turned to face her, and we looked at each other in the eyes, while Lily turned to watch us, as the moon continued to shine down upon us in the night.

I then said again, without hesitating, "I'll become a hero who will protect you, Minna."

Minna gasped again, taken by surprise as what I was telling her, before she asked me, "You will?"

I nodded and said, "When I get older, I'm going to become a hero who will protect you no matter what, because you're important to me, Minna. You're very dear to me, and I want to everything I can to protect you. And…whenever you're in trouble, I'll come and save you, because you're what matters to me."

Minna gasped happily as she asked, "Will you really?!"

I smiled and nodded and said, "Without a doubt!"

Minna smiled as she raised her pinkie finger, a sign of pinkie promise, and asked, "Do you promise?"

I smiled as I raised my pinkie finger and interlocked it with hers, tightened the lock of the pinkie promise, as I promised her, "Yeah. Just leave it to me. Someday, you'll be in good hands! I promise, I'll do my best…to be your hero!"

Hearing me vow my promise to her, Minna smiled brightly as she nodded and said happily, "Yeah! I know you will!"

Lily smiled from my promise I made to Minna and nodded, before she began to disappear, she said to me her goodbyes quietly for me to hear, "Do your best, Yuzuru." Then, Lily disappeared, leaving just the two of us alone together now. Though Lily was gone now, she would always be with us in our hearts.

Me and Minna stayed where we were, holding our pinkie fingers together as the moonlit sky shined down on us, and the stars sparkled around the night sky, as I held onto the promise that would forever go with me wherever I go. After that, the now two of us continued to look at the moonlit night sky together until it was time for us to go to sleep.

* * *

Present day:

I was finished with work and decided it was time for me to leave.

I opened the door and said to my senior staffs, "Well, I'm going home now. Katsuragi-senpai, Hibino-senpai, see you on weekends."

"Goodbye!" said Hibino-senpai, cheerfully as she waved her arm up bye, "We'll see you again, Shin-chin~!"

"Have a good night, Shindou." said Katsuragi-senpai, waving her hand bye.

After that, I left my workplace and began to walk my way home.

I then opened my book and looked at the picture of me and Minna smiling together when we were kids in Germany. This was a picture of me and Minna when we were playing together outside. Though Lily wasn't in the picture, we could imagine her being in that picture smiling with us. Man, looking at the picture…sure brings me back memories. The times we played together, spending time together, and the promise that I made to Minna since that day. Since that day, in order to uphold the promise that I made to Minna, I spent most of my life being a good guy, doing good things for my family by cooking for them in our servants' stead, helping out people who needed it when doing something they needed help with, looking out for someone who needs looking after…well, I think anyone would get the idea. One day, I even left my family home to transfer and move to Fuyuki City, so that I could live independently and create a future for myself, and to be a good man that I hope Minna would see me as. My family approved of me moving away from the family, as they respected my decision, even my dad who, even though he didn't expect much from his untalented son, was okay with me moving and was proud of me making my own decision.

I kept my background of coming from a wealthy family a secret from everyone, partly because it was to prevent everyone from taking advantage of me and my rich family's heritage, and mainly it was because it was what I wanted, because if anything, I didn't want to take advantage of my family's wealth and use it for selfish deeds. I may come from a wealthy family, but I was disciplined as my sisters are, because dad was strict with us to not use money for anything wrong, and to use it for only good deeds, like charity. The only ones that knows about my family background are my co-workers at Ahnenerbe and Matou-sensei, who I trusted the most; Matou-sensei was during one of her counseling session, while Ahnenerbe during my interview with them.

After a long walk, I found myself back at my apartment home and let myself in. I put away the King Arthur book away and went to change into my pajamas. After I changed and bushed my teeth, I went off to bed to turn myself in for tonight.

As I began to sleep I wondered to myself, "I wonder how Minna is doing in Germany right now? Is she thinking about me just as I'm thinking about her? I hope so." Then, I closed my eyes and fell to a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, me and Yukitsuki-san, as usual, came to school way too early, and nobody was in our class yet. I was getting tired due to lack of sleep, thanks to Yukitsuki-san waking me up, and due to a lot of things that happened yesterday. Man, I really need some sleep. I walked over to my desk tiredly, sat down, and fell asleep on my desk. Yukitsuki-san did the same.

Then, after some time, everyone else came to class, except unlike us, they weren't tired nor worried about being late, they just took their time getting to school and getting into class. Man, I wish Yukitsuki-san would be like them. If she was, we wouldn't have to be coming to school early looking tired. Emilia-sensei came in to his desk and said, "Everyone, please take your seats."

Everyone did what they were told and went to their respective seats.

"Chikako Asada-san, if you may please." said Emilia-sensei.

"Yes." said Asada-san, "Everyone, please stand."

We did what she said. "And bow." she said, and we did the same. "Now, be seated." she said, and we remained seated and class began.

"Thank you, Asada-san." said Emilia-sensei, "Now today class, before we begin our lecture, I would like to make an announcement. Tomorrow, we'll be having a…"

I was too tired from all the things that happened yesterday and from Yukitsuki-san dragging me to school way early that I didn't even bother to listen and just kept falling to sleep. I was probably snoring in class too, but at this point, I don't think I even really care. I then felt some tapping on my shoulder, and I looked up tiredly to see Emilia-sensei looking at me with a slight awkward smile and a sweatdrop and asked, "Shindou-kun, are you alright?"

"Huh…?" I said, before I looked around hearing my classmates giggling and laughing at how silly I looked and how funny I was being. My friends just gave me sympathetic looks on their faces, even Yukitsuki-san.

"Shindou-kun, why don't you head to the nurse's office and take a rest?" Emilia-sensei suggested, "I think you'll need some sleep for today."

I tiredly nodded and said tiredly, "Yes, sir…thank you, Emilia-sensei…"

I then tiredly got up from my seat and began walking tiredly like a zombie. I mean hell, I probably look like one, and probably even funnier since I could hear everyone laughing at me from how I looked right now. But, at this point, I don't even care, so I just walked out of the classroom and began walking to the nurse's office.

* * *

I was in the infirmary, sleeping my ass off on the bed that was available. The nurse wasn't here, so I just let myself in. I needed to shut my eyes and sleep. Man, I had a long day yesterday. I closed my eyes and let myself fall to a deep sleep.

* * *

As I was sleeping, suddenly, I…found myself hearing…strange voices in my dream.

" _Soon…"_ one voice said, _"Soon, your time will come."_

"W-What…?" I thought, "W-Who's this…? Who are you…?"

" _Who we are…is of no important."_ another voice said, _"What matters…is you must…be ready."_

"Huh?" I thought, confused, "Wait, ready? Ready for what?"

" _You…have been chosen."_ said the third voice, _"Soon, your time…will come."_

" _The time where one event…will change your fate."_ said the fourth voice, _"Your life…will change forever."_

"Event?" I thought, even more confused, "What event?! I don't understand! What's going on?!"

" _You must…be ready."_ said the first voice, _"Your time...will soon…begin."_

Suddenly, I felt the sudden burning in the back of my left hand, and it was hurting me like fire burning into my skin. While I was feeling the pain of burning, I looked at the back of my left hand, and suddenly, I saw something strange and faint. Or, at least, I thought I saw something. It was faint and blurry, so I couldn't really tell what it was, but I could've swore that I saw some sort of strange red markings on my hand.

"W-What is this?!" I thought, trying to make out what the strange mark was, "W-What's going on?!"

As I tried to make out what it was, suddenly I heard the strange voices said to me, as they were fading away, _"In time, it will begin…and your time…will come. Soon, you must be prepared."_

Then, the voices began fading away. But I tried to reach out to whoever they were, as I wanted answers to what was going on. But, I couldn't reach them, as they all faded away into nothing.

"N-No, wait!" I thought, "Wait! WAAAAAIIIIITTT!"

* * *

I shot up and shouted, "WAIT!"

As I panted, trying to breathe for air, I found myself still in bed in the infirmary, and I found myself woken up from that strange dream while trying to reach out for what I thought I could reach out from that dream. I then looked at the back of my left hand, where I swore I saw those strange markings from my dream, but…I saw there was…nothing there. Strange.

I sighed and said to myself, "Man, what a strange dream, but…it felt so real. Just…what on earth was that?" I sighed again and added, "And why me?"

Then, I heard footsteps and heard someone said, "Hey, Yuzuru."

I looked up and saw Kurosawa-san and Yukitsuki-san standing there in front of me, as Kurosawa-san said, "Hey, what's the matter? You look like you just had a nightmare."

I didn't say anything to them as I was in deep thoughts about that dream, before Yukitsuki-san asked me worriedly, snapping me back, "Shindou-kun, is something wrong?"

"Huh?" I said, "U-Uh…y-yeah, I'm…I'm fine. Just…had a strange dream."

"About what?" she asked.

I shook my head and said, "I don't know…and I'm not sure if…I should talk about it…"

"Hmm…must be complicated, then." said Kurosawa-san, "Well, anyway, we came to tell you that Matou-sensei's class is about to start."

"Huh?!" I said, shocked and confused, "W-Wait…how long was I asleep?!"

Yukitsuki-san chuckled nervously and said, "Long enough to let you know that you missed out a lot of things in Emilia-sensei's class and that you missed out lunch today."

"What the hell?!" I shouted, "Why didn't you guys say anything?!"

"Well, let's just say we didn't wanna bother you in your sweet little sleep." Kurosawa-san smiled, "Plus, Asada-san kept us busy with class rep. stuff."

"Sorry." said Yukitsuki-san, apologetically.

I sighed and said to myself, "Dammit…"

"Well, anyway, we're gonna start class soon, so we came to get you." said Kurosawa-san, "So, you coming or what?"

I sighed and said, "Well, yeah, I guess. I think I've had enough sleep today, so…might as well."

* * *

"And that will be all for today." said Matou-sensei, ending her lecture for today, "Class, you're dismissed."

Everyone in class got up from their seats and were getting ready to leave to either go do club activities or to go home. I was getting ready to leave until Matou-sensei called me.

"Shindou-kun." she called.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Sorry, but do you mind coming with me for a bit?" Matou-sensei asked, "It's really important."

"Um…sure." I said.

"Thank you so much." she smiled, "Sorry for troubling you."

"No, it's okay." I said, as I then began to follow her, "So, what is it you need me for?"

"Well," said Matou-sensei, "Our temporary principal, Mr. Ryuudou, wishes to speak to you about what had happened the other day. About the 'Archery Club Incident', he called it."

"Me?" I said, "Well, I know I was there, but I didn't really do much. So, why me, of all people?"

"Well," said Matou-sensei, "Let's just say that, after hearing about you defending our archery club members from the school's worst bully, he became quite curious of you and wanted to see you personally. You could say he was quite impress with you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes." she smiled, "He even said that hearing you helping various people reminds him of someone, an old friend of his, from his past."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Well, whoever was his friend was must've been a good one."

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, before her expression became saddened and said, "By the way, Shindou-kun?"

"Yeah?" I said,

"Have you heard what happened to Tsukino?" Matou-sensei asked.

"Yeah." I said, "Tsukino resigned from Homurahara Academy to go to the Fuyuki hospital due to her recent injuries, something about her injuries gotten worse or something."

"That's right." said Matou-sensei, "Ever since that day, our school's been receiving complaints from her parents about their daughter. They wanted to speak to our old principal about it, but unfortunately, he had already quitted before they could complain to him about it."

"Yeah, I heard from the others." I said, "He quitted because of his weak mind and weak will to do anything as principal, since Shichirou terrifies him. He's scared of him."

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, "And, sadly, it's only gotten worse."

"Have Tsukino's parents been placing blames on the staff, too?" I guessed.

"That's right." said Matou-sensei, "All of the teachers and staffs, including me, have been receiving complaints from them about what had happened and blames us for not being able to do anything for their daughter. It's been getting somewhat difficult to deal with them. They've been blaming and criticizing that we were just following the principal to do nothing against Hashimoto instead of protecting the school and the students."

"Must be rough." I said.

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, "And from what I heard from Tsukino's parents, Tsukino has been becoming more mentally and emotionally unstable and her injuries from that day has been getting worsening by the day. At this point, it's possible that Tsukino may end up committing suicide."

"Damn…" I said.

"I know." said Matou-sensei, "It's getting much harder for all of us that even I don't know what to do."

I looked at Matou-sensei for a moment. She looked serious and upset at the same time. It must be getting difficult now since what happened. I smiled and said reassuringly, "I'm sure you'll figure something out. I mean, we have Mr. Ryuudou to help us. And even if it's for a short while, I'm sure Mr. Ryuudou can think of something good before a new principal will take his place. And besides, our current principal is much stronger minded and willful than our last one. And who knows, maybe not even a single bully like Shichirou can scare the crap out of him. And, since Shichirou is gone now, we have less worried and have other things to worry about."

Matou-sensei looked at me for a moment, before she giggled and said, "Yes, you're right. I'm sure we'll think of something out." She smiled at me and said, "Thank you, Shindou-kun. You're always there to help cheer us up when we needed it most."

"I'm just doing what I can." I said, "And besides, this is my school, too, so of course, this school's problem is also my problem."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, "Well, thank you for your concern."

We arrived at the principal's office, and as we went inside, we saw that Mr. Ryuudou was already inside at his desk writing down on some paperwork, before he noticed us and said, "Matou, come on in."

"Yes, sir." said Matou-sensei.

He then looked at me and became…somehow surprised? He kinda looked like he had just seen a ghost or something as he said, "Wait, are you…?" leaving me confused.

He got up from his desk and to look at me in shocked expression, before he clearly made out what I looked like and said, "Oh…you're not him…"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Who?"

He noticed my confused look and said, "A-Ah, sorry! I just…I thought you were someone else."

"Oh, uh…ok." I said, "Well, anyway, my name is Yuzuru Shindou. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Ah, yes, likewise." he said, "I'm Issei Ryuudou, currently the principal of Homurahara Academy. So, I take it you understand why I've called you here?"

"Yes, sir." I said, "Matou-sensei had told me on our way here, about the 'Archery Club Incident'."

"Correct." said Mr. Ryuudou, as he adjusted his glasses, "As you've guessed, I've already heard from other staff members, including Matou here, about the latest incident. However, I thought I'd like to hear about it from your perspective. I've heard that you were there protecting the other students and fending off that disgraceful delinquent."

"You wanna hear from me?" I asked.

"If it's alright with you." said Mr. Ryuudou.

"Well, I don't mind." I said, "But, what's it gotta do with me?"

"Oh, nothing of a sort." he reassured me, "I just thought I'd like to hear your story about it."

"I see." I said, "Well, alright then. So, where do I start?"

"Anywhere is fine." he said.

"Well, okay." I said, "Well, it all started…"

* * *

After explaining to Mr. Ryuudou about what happened on my perspective, he began to think for a moment from what I told him.

"I see." he said.

"So, what about it, sir?" I asked.

Mr. Ryuudou was in thoughts for a moment, before he said, "I believe there might be a reason why our previous principal was so weak minded that he would refuse to do anything."

"Really?" I asked, "What is it?"

"Well, based on what you've told me, and what other staff members have told me about our previous principal," said Mr. Ryuudou, "It is likely that he was being blackmailed by Shichirou."

"Blackmailed?" Matou-sensei asked.

"Correct." said Mr. Ryuudou, "It's likely that the previous principal of our school had some sort of big secret that he would refuse to tell anyone, even the teachers and staff members, and was likely caught by Shichirou and was being blackmailed by him to let him do whatever and threatened him that if he were to tell anyone, even the police what was going on, Shichirou would likely beat him, or even worse, and then reveal to everyone what kind of secret that he was hiding. It's likely that the previous principal became weak minded before Shindou even got here."

"Then, whatever big secret that our last principal had, maybe related to something important." I guessed.

"Correct." he said, "Which is why, I'm going to figure out what it is, before I give my position as principal to someone else. Of course, some of the staff members, including Matou-sensei, will be coming with me to investigate."

"Wait, so, Matou-sensei won't be teaching us for a while?" I asked.

"Just for now." he reassured, "I'll need some few extra hands to deal with this situation. As you're aware, Tsukino's parents have been giving the teachers and staffs complaints about what had transpired the other day, and if not taken care of, it's only going to get worse. Which is why, I'll be checking on our old principal for a while until we learn the truth from him."

"Oh, okay." I said, "So, when will you start?"

"We'll begin tomorrow after school." he said, "And by the next day after tomorrow, you'll be having substitute teachers for the time being. Don't worry, though, once we're done with it, the school be running back to normal like always."

"I see." I said, "Well, that's good to hear, at least."

Mr. Ryuudou nodded and said, "Good. Well, then, that's all. You may leave now."

"Yes, sir." I bowed, "Thank you."

I then turned around and began to leave the principal's office. But then, I stopped for a moment as there was something else on my mind. I then turned back and asked, "By the way, do you, by any chance, know someone that might've sent Shichirou out on a sort of rampage and caused the incident the other day?"

"Hmm?" he said, "Well, no, not that I know off. Why do you ask?"

I thought about for a moment, as…well, there is one person I could think of. I then sort of lied, "No, just asking." After that, I left the principal's office to go out and look for someone.

* * *

I looked around the hallways to look for someone for a moment, before finally, I found her talking to her posse, Misao Amari.

The girl has long and straight bright pink hair and matching color eyes, and has a mole on the bottom left side of her lips. Like everyone else, she wears a female Homurahara standard uniform, while she also wears white pantyhose with her school uniform, and white shoes.

This girl is…the one person that I do not get along with. Like me, she's a 2nd year student, but in different class from me. And, thank god, we take different classes, because there was no way that I can stand her. Why? Well, at one time, I did try to get along with Amari and tried to be friends with her, only for Amari to just shove me off for no reason and…well, let's just say after getting on a rough start, we became complete mortal enemies. Honestly, I really don't like her, nor can I stand her little façade that she was making, but…the only way to get answers is through her.

I walked up to Amari and said, "Hey, Amari."

Amari turned around after hearing my name and noticed me, then she made a (fake) friendly smile and said, "Ah, Shindou! It's nice to see you! To what do I owe a pleasure of seeing you?"

I really don't like her.

I gave her a serious look and said, "You and I need to talk."

Amari looked at my serious expression for a moment, while her posse looked at me as if they were scared of me. Amari then smiled and said, "Why don't we take this elsewhere?" She then turned to her groupies and said, "You girls go on without me. He and I have to talk for a bit."

"B-But-"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." Amari (falsely) reassured them, "I'll be back." She then turned away as she walked up next to me and whispered, "At the rooftop."

I simply nodded and followed her until we reached to the roof of the school building.

Once we were alone, Amari took a deep breath and sighed, before she looked at me with a (fake) friendly smile and said, "So, Shindou, what do you wanna talk about? It's very rare to see you talking to me of all people."

"Can it!" I said, coldly, "I know you're the one who sent Shichirou to attack and destroy the archery club."

"Excuse me?" she asked, (falsely) confused of what I was saying, "I…beg your pardon?"

"I said, drop the act!" I said, coldly, "And I said, I know you're the one who sent Shichirou to do those terrible biddings! Do you have ANY idea how many people who were involved and gotten hurt because of him?! OR, do you have ANY idea what son of a bitch of a bully did to Matou-sensei while she was in there, trying to get that bastard to stop, only for her to fail?! Do you have ANY idea what happened to the old captain of the archery club, after that whole incident?! Huh?! DO YOU?!"

After hearing me yelling at her those words, he expression became grim and said with a cold smile, "Oh, and what if I did? It's not like it's my business what happened to those people who were involved, and what happened to your teacher who favors YOU the most, Mr. Teacher's Favorite Boy. And besides, that bitch of a captain deserved it, anyway, being all bitchy about archery and all that."

"So then, you knew." I said, coldly, "Yet, you didn't bother telling anyone that you're responsible."

"And what about it?" she glared at me, "Besides, it's not like it's any of YOUR business, and it shouldn't be. Plus, that muscle head Shichirou wasn't so bad at doing those good stuff, he's actually pretty useful. Blackmailing the old principal, taking advantage of his secrets, beating up people that he really wants to suffer, doing whatever he wants like it's nobody's business. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he and I had a lot in common."

"So, you just go with it?" I said, coldly, "And what do you plan to do now? Shichirou's been kicked out of school, and he should be of no use to you!"

"Hmm, true." said Amari, looking at her fingernails, before she gave out a wicked smile, "But that doesn't mean he can't be useful outside of school. You've seen him doing bad things to people, even outside of the school, and you and I both know that he can't be stopped. Big guy wants to make people suffer and take pleasure in it, just like he made his family suffer until he discarded them. People get hurt, and he doesn't even care about it. He brings fear into everyone, and nobody will be willing to do anything to stop him."

"We'll figure out a way." I said, "We always do. And as for you, I hope you take responsibility for what you did, as well. Those people, including Tsukino, did not deserved what you and Shichirou gave them."

We looked at each other, glaring at each other's eyes as we stared daggers at each other. Then, Amari smiled coldly and said, "I look forward to that day it happens."

Then, Amari stepped away from me and asked tiredly, "So, are we done talking? I really need to go see my friends. We have some fun things to do."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, we're done. For now."

"Good." said Amari, as she moved next to me to leave, before she added, "Oh, and Shindou? I'd rather that you not getting into something where your nose doesn't belong. Otherwise, you'll end up regretting it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, coldly, without even looking at her.

Amari merely smirked without looking at me and said, "That…is a secret, between me and someone else." Then, she began to walk off as she said haughtily, "So long, Shindou boy."

I merely stood where I was and Amari walked away without even looking at me. God, I hate her.

* * *

I was on my way to walk home when someone called me, "Excuse me, Shindou-san."

I turned around to see an archery club member coming towards me. Well, more specifically, the new captain of the archery club. Following him were the other fellow members of the club.

"Oh, hi." I said, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, sorry to bother you." said the new captain, "But, uh…we were wondering, can you help us clean up our dojo? We need an extra hand today, and we're gonna be in a hurry soon."

"Well, sure, I don't mind." I said, "But, what's the hurry? What're you planning to do?"

"Well," said the new captain, "Actually, we were planning on visiting Tsukino soon."

"Oh." I said, "I see. I'm sorry to hear. I heard she wasn't feeling to well."

"Yeah." said the new captain, "Ever since what happened, she's been getting worse and worse and hasn't been feeling any better. I'm really worried for her."

"You must be pretty close to Tsukino if you're that worried about her." I guessed.

The new captain chuckled and said, "Yeah, you could say that. We've been together for a long time since middle school, and we've been stuck together since."

"Must be nice." I said.

"Yeah." said the new captain, "Anyway, can you come help us?"

"Well, sure, I don't mind." I said, "Just a minute."

I pulled out my phone and texted to Yukitsuki-san that I was going to be late to go home again. After I sent the message, I nodded to the captain and we went to the archery club to clean up some things.

* * *

Mirai's POV:

It was already nighttime, and we were out in the city being on patrol. Me, Sayaka, Hiroko, Ami, and Assassin, were on the lookout for enemy Masters or Servants that may come to us.

"Anything?" I asked.

"No, milady." said Sayaka.

"Nothing, milady." said Hiroko.

"No signs of any threats, milady." said Aimi.

I turned to Assassin and asked, "Assassin?"

Assassin was looking through his scope of his sniper rifle, before he answered, "No, no visual. Everything seems clear, my Master."

"I see." I said.

"So, where do we look at now?" Sayaka asked.

I put myself in thoughts for a moment. I then used my Mystic Eyes to see the future. Through my eyes, I could see a strange magic circle on top of the school building of Homurahara Academy. If I had to guess, it must be something used to create a Bounded Field.

I closed my eyes after seeing the future, before I opened them and said, "I suggest we go to the school. There is a clue there that we may be able to find."

"Understood." said Hiroko.

"Yes, milady." said Aimi.

"As you command." said Sayaka.

As the three were getting ready to leave, I turned to Assassin who nodded and was ready to take me there. While Sayaka, Hiroko, and Aimi used their magecraft to enhance their legs and jump off from building to building, Assassin held onto me as he used his power of a Servant to jump off from building to building while carrying me as we followed suit.

As we followed, Assassin spoke up to me first and asked, "Master, I have something to ask of you, if I may?"

"Of course, Assassin." I said.

"I…neglected to ask this after I was summoned to this world," he said, "But I must ask, what do you seek the Holy Grail for? Do you have a wish you desire to be granted?"

"My wish?" I asked.

"Yes." he said, "It's important for Servants to know what the Master wishes for from the Holy Grail once the War is over, giving them reasons to fight for that said wish for their Master."

"I see." I said, "Well, I suppose I do have a wish that want granted. However, that is something that I wish to keep for myself."

"Hmm?" said Assassin, confused about my statement, "Keep to yourself?"

"Correct." I said, "Let's just say it's a precautionary method, to keep hold of what I wish for until it is the right time. While it's true that it's important for Servants to learn about the Masters' wish, the wishes are also something that Masters cannot reveal so easily. There are some Servants who learns about the wishes of the Masters would take advantage of what he/she desires and use it against them, and other Servants who dislikes the wishes of the Masters and would likely turn against them. Servants and Masters must have mutual trusts, loyalties, and understanding with each other in order for them to achieve their goals together and not turn against each other by any means. Otherwise, it could cause mistrust and complete diversity. Which is exactly why I intend to keep my wish a secret from you to be cautious, in case whatever I say to you doesn't make you turn against me."

"I see." said Assassin, "Well then, I'd say it's a wise decision."

"I apologize if I may be showing some trust issues to you, Assassin." I said, "As I've said, I'm just being cautious. So, please, do not misunderstand."

"Of course not." said Assassin, "You're just doing what is the right thing as a Master."

"Thank you, Assassin." I said.

We continued on jumping from building to building until we reached the rooftop of the school.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

It was already nighttime, and everyone has already left Homurahara Academy, even the archery club members left their club already to either visit Tsukino or go home. Me? I stayed behind to make sure that everything was perfectly okay. What I was doing now is cleaning the floor to make sure that the floor was as nice and polished as possible. Once I was done with the floor, I took a look at the archery club equipments to make sure that everything was fine. From the looks of it, they must've either fixed the equipments or replaced them. I was told that after I was done, I can go home and relax. Overall, everything seems to be fine, but I decided to stay a little while just in case. I won't be coming home for a little while.

* * *

Mirai's POV:

We were on the rooftop where we found the magic circle. Me and my followers were checking on the circle while Assassin was in spiritual form, while also using one of the Assassin-Class skills, "Presence Concealment", in case if an enemy Servant comes and attack.

I took a look at it for a moment, before I confirmed, "It's as I thought, this circle is something used to create a Bounded Field, and it's likely a trigger point."

"Such strange writing." said Aimi.

"Yeah, it looks complicated." said Sayaka.

"Indeed." I said, "Assassin, you can sense its nature, can't you? Should this Bounded Field be activated, it will most likely liquify the humans inside of it. This is some sort of Soul-Eating Bounded Field, a blood fort that will dissolve any human flesh and body within the field and then harvest the human souls out of them. Judging as to who would want human souls, it is obvious that it's a Servant."

"Can Servants do such things?" Aimi asked.

"Yes, it is as you surmised." said Assassin, "Fundamentally, Servants, such as me, are non-corporeal beings. And, just as humans partake of meat as nourishment, Servants partake of humans and souls. In other words, the more souls that they ingest the greater their mana stores become."

"Are you suggesting that your kinds aren't satisfied with the mana they're supplied with from their Masters?" Hiroko asked.

"No." said Assassin, "It's not that we aren't satisfied with the mana given to us, it's that more is always the better. So, absorbing energy from any nearby humans, it's the basic strategy of a Master. In that sense, this bounded field made from someone is highly effective."

"How aggravating…" said Hiroko.

I nodded and said, "Well, Assassin, be sure not to do such things in the future."

"Agreed." said Assassin, "You have no worries, though. I would never resort to something like this."

"Good." I said, before I turned to my companions and said, "Well, let's erase it, then. Though it may not completely undo it, it could slow it down for a while."

"Yes, milady." they said.

Suddenly, we heard someone said, "Aww~! You're gonna erase it now? What a waste!"

Hearing someone's voice alerted us, and we immediately readied ourselves. My companions with their weapons out, while I readies my gemstones as I got into my fighting stance. We then turned to the source of the voice and found a woman.

The woman had pale skin, short blonde hair, and crimson eyes. She wore a white long sleeve shirt and a long purple skirt, with black pantyhose under the skirt, and black dress shoes. She was looking at us for a moment until she gave out a whimsical smile on her face.

We remained cautious. Just who on earth is she?

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	6. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 5

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 0: Prologue Part 5**

* * *

Mirai's POV:

We were readying ourselves as there was a woman standing before us. She was standing there, looking at us with a whimsical smile on her face. I had my gemstones in my hands ready, Sayaka had both her handguns aimed at her, Hiroko with her sword ready to be drawn out, and Aimi with her throwing knives in her leg straps and two machetes in her hands, while Assassin remains in spirit form, but was ready to attack at any point in time. We remained as cautious as possible.

Just who is she? A friend? Or a foe?

I stepped up and demanded, "So, tell us, are you the one responsible for this handiwork of writing?!"

The woman laughed out loud, as if something that I said was funny, before she replied with a big smile, "No, no! Not at all! Planning dirty tricks like that is the Masters' role. My kind simply fights where and when we're told to."

I remained silent while the others readied themselves.

Then, the woman opened her eyes and said, "Isn't that right, Mr. Invisible Man?"

Wait, what?! Hearing her say that suddenly shocked us as it caught us by surprised, as we realized what she was talking about. She can see him, even with his Presence Concealment? But…but how?

"Impossible…!" said Hiroko, shocked.

"But, how…?" Aimi questioned.

"Hm?" said the woman, "Ohh, you're wondering how I know your friend's there even if I can't see nor sense him?" She then laughed and said, "I don't need to do any of that to know that your friend's there right beside you, when I can at least smell to tell that he's here."

"Uh…smell?" said Sayaka, somewhat disgusted, "The hell kind of nose do you have?"

"Well, smelling aside, there's no way you could possibly tell that he's with us." I said, "You said that your part of their kind, which means, you are a Servant!"

"Ooh~!" said the woman, excited, "And if you know all of that, little missy, does that mean you and your friends are my enemies?! How fun~!"

My companions were about to attack, before I halted them and said, "No, do not attack!" I looked around us for a moment. We were being surrounded my fences on the rooftop on four sides, and our space isn't big enough for us to fight in combat, leaving us at a disadvantage.

"We need to get out of the rooftop, fall back and regroup." I whispered, "We can't fight here." Seeing what I was talking about, they nodded to my suggestion and lowered their weapons. I then turned to Aimi and whispered a command, "Aimi, prepare to use a smoke bomb. We need to distract her before she makes a move on us." Aimi nodded at my command and had readied her smoke bomb in her hands.

"Heh~?" said the woman, looking curiously at us, "Are you planning a strategy already, even though you're trapped like sitting ducks? C'mon, you know there's no way you fight in the field this big!"

"Good." I thought, "She seems oblivious to what we're doing. Assassin, can you hear my thoughts?"

"Of course, Master." said Assassin, telepathically, "I can hear you."

"Good." I thought, "Now listen, we're going to create a chance to escape and get out of this rooftop. While we run, we'll split up and get out of the roof. When I jump off the roof, you handle the landing."

"And your friends?" he asked, telepathically.

"I'll draw her attention to me." I thought, "Giving my companions time to run out to the door, while we lead her to another big space we can fight in. Are you with me on this?"

"Hmmm." said Assassin, telepathically, as if he was thinking for a moment, before he answered, "Alright. Your shot."

"Good." I thought. I then whispered to my companions, "Alright, are you ready?" They nodded, signaling that they were ready.

We then turned back to the woman, who was now curious of what we were planning on doing.

"Ooh~!" said the woman, excited, still oblivious to what we were doing, "Are you planning to fight now?! Great~!"

Hold on…

"This is gonna be fun~!" the woman cheered.

Steady…

"I don't know what you're planning on doing while being stuck around here." said the woman, readying to attack, "But…"

One more second…

"Your time…" said the woman, as she began to move, "Ends here." Then, with incredible speed, she began to charge at us.

I then shouted, "NOW!"

"Huh?" said the woman, suddenly confused.

Aimi then moved aside and quickly throw the smoke bomb right at the woman's face, before it exploded, catching her off guard. The smoke exploded everywhere, blinding the woman as she was now coughing from the smoke and covering us. We used this cover for us to escape, and we split up, Sayaka, Hiroko, and Aimi quickly ran away just in time to get the exit door, while I ran over to the fences, while using one of the gemstones to shine to get the woman's attention, which was working as the smoke was slowly dying out.

I then began to chant as I enhanced my legs, "Es ist gross. es ist klein (It is large. it is small)." I then jumped and moved in incredible speed as I made a final chant, "¡Vox Gott Es Altas! (¡The Voice of God is the World!)"

I jumped over the fence and I was now flying off the roof, before I began to fall as the wind blew at me. I then told Assassin, "Assassin, handle the landing for me!"

From my commands, Assassin, even in spiritual form, caught me and began to handle the landing by, after falling from the building, and as he held onto me tight, he landed his feet on the ground before jumping off somewhere where there would be more space, the track field. After he landed a second time, he let me off and I ran for a bit before I began to slow down, as I was then trying to catch my breath.

Then, suddenly, I felt the woman was behind me, readying to attack me. But, before she could land a blow on me, she was intercepted by Assassin, who protected me from the attack. After I was farther away from the woman, I turned around to see Assassin, already materialized, in front of me with his combat knife and a submachine gun, which he used to fire at the woman who was now backing away from the shots it was making. Once she was father away enough, Assassin stopped firing his submachine gun, and both of them stood where they were standing, facing each other, and nowhere else.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was finished with checking everything that was needed to be checked in the archery club. After I was done cleaning and checking everything, I looked around for a bit, before I smiled in satisfaction. Finally, I was done.

After that, I went to pack up my things and getting ready to go home. But then…suddenly, I heard something outside. It was some very loud and rapid banging, like something was being fired.

"Huh?" I said, turning my attention to that sound, "What the-? What was that? Gun shots?"

I quickly finished packing my stuff before I went outside to see what was happening and what the sound was. I then found people out in a tracking field. One, I recognized as President Tohsaka, a man in a red hood and strange clothing with a knife and a machine gun in his hands, and a woman with blonde hair wearing a white shirt and a purple skirt. I then see the three girls who were with President Tohsaka as they came over to her side.

"What's going on?" I said, confused.

* * *

Mirai's POV:

Assassin and the woman were facing against each other, Assassin armed and ready, while my companions, who had just arrived after leaving the school building, came over to my side as they readied themselves to protect me.

I then looked at the woman for a moment. She…didn't have any weapons, only her hands with sharp claws. Strange. I've never seen nor heard of any kinds of Servants with such claws. What Servant-Class is she? No, better yet, is she even a Servant at all?

"Assassin, do not attack yet." I commanded, and Assassin nodded while he remained where he was, gun still pointing at the woman. I then turned to the woman and asked, "If I may ask, what Class of Servant are you?"

"Hmm?" said the woman, "What am I?" She then laughed at my question before she gave out a whimsical smile and asked back, "Does it matter what I am?"

"It is." I answered, "Because never have I seen nor heard of a Servant who fights with nothing but bare hands and razor-sharp claws as weapons before, so there is no telling what kind of Servant-Class you are unless you have a Noble Phantasm. Or…perhaps your claws are your Noble Phantasm?"

"Ahahahaha!" the woman laughed, "You're funny, you know that, little missy?!"

"This isn't a joke!" I demanded, "So, I will ask you again, what Class of Servant are you?!"

"Hmph!" the woman pouted, "Well, you're no fun!" She then turned her attention to Assassin, "Well, what about you, Mr. Mystery Man with the gun? What are you?"

Assassin said nothing as he remained silent. The mysterious female Servant continued to look at him as she was observing him. Then she guessed, "Well, since you have a knife and a gun with you, I can only assume that you're an Assassin-Class Servant."

Assassin remained silent and stood where he was like a statue.

The woman then smiled and said, "Well, Mr. Assassin, if you think you're such a tough guy, why don't you come and take me on? Let me what a weak Servant like you can do. Go on, Assassin Man. I'm waiting."

Assassin remained where he was, not moving a single inch from where he was, before he turned his head a quarter towards me. I see. Assassin must be waiting for my command. I looked at Assassin, then at the woman for a moment. Well, I suppose now would be a good time as any.

I turned to Assassin and commanded, "Assassin, you will not receive any assistance from me nor my companions. Right here and right now, show us what you can do. Attack the enemy Servant in front of you!"

Assassin nodded and said quietly for me to hear, "Understood, Master." He then turned back to the female Servant, before he powered himself up with bursting amount of mana. The woman looked at him out of pure curiosity, wondering what he'll do.

Then, without missing a beat, Assassin began firing his submachine gun at the woman, catching her off guard as she quickly began to either taking steps to back away from the shots he was making or shielding herself. Assassin then began to run after her while he continued firing.

The woman then moved to the side away from the shots Assassin was making and began to charge at him with incredible speed, and as she was getting close to him, she was readying her armed claws to strike him down, only for Assassin to quickly, and mysteriously, dodge (or teleport?) away from her attack and attack her with his combat knife. The woman used her other hand to block the oncoming knife attack from Assassin and pushed him back with a kick. Assassin stood his ground and continued with his attack with his knife, trying to strike her down, but every time he tries to attack her, the woman kept on blocking his knife attacks, putting him in nowhere. The woman then kicked Assassin with sheer force, pushing him away from her before she began to get ready to attack, only for Assassin to immediately firing his submachine gun again, forcing her to cover herself.

We stood where we were watching, as the fight continued with nothing but the sounds of gun shots and rubbles being made everywhere, both Assassin and the woman getting nowhere as they tried to get the upper hands at one another, putting them into a stalemate.

Then, Assassin and the female woman stopped fighting and remained standing where they were, before the woman said, "Man, you're fast for an Assassin. You must be using some sort of tricks to get the better of me, or at least trying to keep up with Servants who're at least stronger than you."

"So, is wait and see your strategy now?" Assassin asked, "Or perhaps you're just taking a break from this?"

The woman laughed and said with a whimsical smile, "Hardly, Mr. Mystery Man! Well, since we've fought for a little while, how about an introduction? What land's Heroic Spirit are you? I can tell you're an Assassin, but I've never seen nor heard of and Assassin capable of moving at such speed, faster than the eye could see."

"You, on the other hand, are just as unidentifiable as I am." said Assassin, "However, I can tell that you use brute force and raw power to fight, given that you don't use weapons and only your claws for battle, and martial arts for close combat. Add to that, given that there are many heroes who fights with raw strength and power, I can only assume that you are Berserker-Class Servant."

"Oh, ho~!" said the woman, now named Berserker, excitedly, "I'm amazed! You can tell that I'm a Berserker after a brief exchange of battle?! You're Amazing, Mr. Mystery Man!"

"I see." I said, "You're a Berserker-Class Servant, yet…there's something off about you."

"Yes, I can tell, as well, Master." said Assassin, before he said to Berserker, "You don't have any Madness Enhancement on you."

"A Berserker without any Madness Enhancement?" Hiroko questioned.

"Just what on earth is she?" Sayaka questioned.

"Indeed." said Aimi, "Even I do not understand how there can be a Servant capable of battles without Madness Enhancement."

Berserker laughed and said, "That's because I don't need any Madness Enhancement to help me win in a fight. Besides, my idiots of Masters are being cautious about it, if I used Madness Enhancement, I'd only lose my rationality and could easily kill you without meaning to."

"I see." I said.

"Well, then, enough talk." said Berserker, as she went back to her fighting stance, "Shall we continue?"

Assassin readied his gun and said, "I won't stop you. I have to defeat you, sooner or later."

Assassin must be careful. We don't know what kind of Noble Phantasm that Berserker has up her sleeves.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Whoa! I couldn't believe my eyes. Those strange people, fighting against each other, with such incredible strength and speed, as if they're trying to kill each other. What is this? Just what on earth is going on?! My god. This…this feels so…unnatural.

I feel so shocked at what I was seeing, that I stepped back from what was in front of me, accidently stepping on a twig beneath my shoes, suddenly alerting the blonde woman.

"HUH?!" the woman instantly turned around, alerted by the sound that I accidentally made, "WHO'S THERE?!"

OH, CRAP! I think I've been spotted!

I quickly turned around and immediately ran away from this scene for my life as quickly as I could, running away for dear life. I had to escape or hide!

* * *

Mirai's POV:

"Huh?!" I turned to where Berserker was looking at and saw someone running away.

"A witness?!" Sayaka shouted, shocked.

"In the middle of the night?!" Hiroko shouted, just as shocked as Sayaka.

"Dammit, why now of all times?!" I shouted.

I then turned to see Berserker was gone.

"Dammit!" I curse, "She must've gone after the witness! She's going to kill him!"

"Milady, what do we do?!" Aimi quickly asked.

"I turned to Assassin and commanded, "Assassin, go after Berserker! Do not let her get to him!"

"Understood!" said Assassin, before he went to spirit form to go after her.

"Let's go!" I commanded, "We're going after them! Spread out and find that witness, but do not attack him! Keep him alive!"

"Yes, milady!" they bowed, before they went off separately to find the witness. Then, I went out to find him as well. He must be around somewhere!

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I ran inside of the school building and ran around the corridors of the hallway. I don't know where I'm going! I just need to run and hide somewhere safe! I need to get away from whatever was coming after me! I quickly took the stairs and ran upstairs to go to a higher floor.

After I made it farther up top, I immediately turned to the classroom door at was opened, quickly ran inside, and immediately shut the door, closing it as tight as I could with the door. I then quickly went to the other door and made sure it was also shut tight. I quickly then went to the desks, quickly carrying them one by one to create a barricaded door, blocking the door so that nobody, or whatever I just saw, could try to break in. I was trapped, but at least the barricades on both doors should be enough to give me some time to find a way to escape. Okay, I need to hurry be-FAMMMFFF!

Suddenly, I felt something grabbing my mouth, and I was being lifted off the ground. Something invisible was holding me and lifting me. W-What…what's going on?!

Suddenly, I see the blonde woman from before, appearing right in front of me, looking at me with her red crimson eyes. Oh, god! Seeing her suddenly made me horrified that I was screaming out for dear life even in my muffled mouth. How…how did she get in?! What's going on?!

"Oh, dear~!" she smiled at me, "You didn't really think you could hide from me, did you?"

"MMMMMFFF MMMFFF MMFF (GOD, WHAT ARE YOU)?!" I screamed in my muffled mouth, "MMMFFF MF MMMFF (PLEASE, LET ME GO)!"

"Hmm?" said the woman, playfully, "What was that~? I can't hear you~?"

"MMMMMMMMMFFFFFFF (WHAT IS GOING ON)?!" I screamed in my muffled mouth, while trashing around with my legs, trying to get her grip off me, "MMMFFF MMFF MMMFF (LET ME GO)! MMMMFFF MMMFF, MMMMMMFFFF, MMMFFF MMFF MMMFF (OH GOD, PLEASE, LET ME GO)!"

"Oh, my, you're a feisty one, aren't you~?" she laughed at my struggle, before she looked at me and said almost darkly, "So, you saw, didn't you? What was going on? What we were doing?"

Suddenly, I stopped struggling, as I was now being frightened by the crimson eyed look that she was giving me. Her crimson eyes glowed, looking straight into my eyes, as the moonlight behind her shined, giving me a look of a shadowy monster that was right in front of me, like a deadly vampire in the night. Oh, god! What is she going to do?!

"Aw~ So, you did saw~" she smiled, "My, my, my, what a bad boy we have here~!" She then looked at me in the eyes and asked wickedly, "Tell me, having you ever heard the saying, 'dead men tell no tales'? Hmm~?"

I thought about what she asked me for a moment, before realization hit me. Oh, god, no! She wouldn't! She can't! OH, GOD, NO, SHE CAN'T! I began to scream again for dear life as I didn't want to die, screaming for someone to help me.

"I really didn't wanna do this~" said the woman, "Truly, I didn't. But, I'm just following the rules here, and people like you, who saw what happened today, must die, so…I'm~sor~ry~"

Then, I felt something, so sharp and painful, piercing through my chest, making me scream out even more from the pain she was giving me. I could feel she was using her other hand to pierce through my chest, moving around while slowly and painfully trying to reach to my heart. Oh, god, it hurts so much!

"I'm gonna crush your little heart now, little boy~" she whispered in my ears, "But, don't worry~ It'll be over, very, very, very soon~"

OH, GOD, NO! NOOO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!

Just then, before the woman could finish me off, I heard an explosion, and the woman suddenly released me, dropping me to the ground, as I then heard gun shots being made. As I laid there, my vision became blurry, as I was losing consciousness. God, what's happening…? Am I…gonna die here…? I-I can't…

* * *

Mirai's POV:

I came upstairs of the school building as fast as I could as soon as I heard an explosion and then gun shots coming from upstairs, and my companions had quickly regrouped and began to follow me upstairs. As soon as we made it up, we saw Assassin standing in front of the exploded door of the classroom. He must've found Berserker there and broke in. We quickly came to him and looked what was in the classroom. Aside from the signs of explosion that Assassin made and the broken desk that were caught on the impact, we found the boy who saw our fight lying on the ground, bleeding from his chest.

"I barely made it." said Assassin.

"And Berserker?" I asked, without looking at him.

"Escaped and gone." he answered, "Just as soon as I made it here and broke in."

"Damn…!" Sayaka cursed.

Aimi approached the boy and slowly and carefully turned him around to see his face. To our shock, it was the same boy that we met yesterday, Yuzuru Shindou.

"M-Milady…" said Aimi, shakenly, "T-This…t-this boy is…"

I swallowed hard and said, "I know." I then turned to Assassin and ordered, "Assassin, go after Berserker. We need to know who's her Master. We'll take care of this."

Assassin nodded before he went to spiritual form to go after Berserker.

I then turned my attention back to the boy that was most likely dying, before I knelt on my knees to check on him, by first checking his plus, and then his breathing.

"Well, Ojou-sama?" Hiroko asked, "Anything?"

"Is he…already dead?" Sayaka asked hesitantly.

I checked on the boy for a moment, on his vitals, on his pulse, and on his breathing, before I answered, "No. He's still alive. It's faint, but he's still breathing, and his pulse is still there."

Hearing this puts my companions at ease, before I added, "However, if not treated properly now, he'll most likely die. We need to hurry and treat his wounds and injuries now." I turned to Aimi and ordered, "Aimi, see if you can heal him with your healing Magecraft."

"Yes, Ojou-sama." Aimi bowed, before she began to check the boy for any signs of injuries. The only injury that this boy has right now is his chest, so Aimi observed his chest for a moment carefully. Once she was done, she said, "It would seem that he's wounded around his chest area, most likely around his heart. It would seem likely that Berserker would've crushed his heart had Assassin not intervened."

"Can you still heal it?" I asked.

"Well, I can try to heal him." said Aimi, "I'll try to heal him until his wound closes, but it's going to require some more mana for me to completely heal him. Because even with my healing Magecraft, he won't be able to survive the further the wound gets."

"I see." I said, before I then went and took out a red gemstone and said, "Here. This gem has been produced with 5-6 years' worth of mana. I've been storing this gem everyday with the amount of mana I've been giving it. Will this be enough to work?"

Aimi took the gemstone to look at it, and then feel it's power I've stored into it, before she answers, "Yes, milady, this is more than enough. But-"

"Then, use it." I commanded, "If this amount can save him, then so be it. Use it, now!"

"A-As you wish." Aimi bowed, before she began to use the gemstone by placing it on his wounded chest area, and then began to chant healing words in German.

I then placed both my hands, on top of hers and said, "I'll assist you on this one. It'll help put less stress on your body this way."

Aimi stopped for a moment to nod at me and said, "Of course. Thank you, milady."

We then looked back at the boy and continued to chant healing words on him to heal him. This was going to take a little while.

* * *

We continued using chants to heal him, applying both our mana and the gem's mana until his wounds were fully healed, and the gemstone turned gray, hinting that the mana it had left was gone, and it cracked to pieces. Once we were done healing him, Aimi checked on him to make sure if he was completely healed yet by looking at his chest for a minute. And, just to our relief, he was fully healed, looking just like he was before.

"We did it." I said.

"Yes, milady." Aimi smiled, "With this, Shindou-sama will be able to live again and be back to normal in no time."

"Well, that's a relief." said Sayaka.

"Indeed." said Hiroko, "Still, to think that this boy would foolishly be here at this hour. What on earth was he doing here?"

"He probably stayed behind to do something." Sayaka guessed, "That's the only explanation I can think of."

"Yes." I said, as I looked at the boy who was still unconscious.

"Well, we need to go." said Hiroko, "Before he wakes up."

"Right." said Sayaka, "I'm sure after all this, he's probably gonna go home feeling freaked out about tonight."

"Indeed." said Aimi, as she was getting up, "It's unfortunate, but we must leave him immediately."

I, however, did not get up from the floor as I continued to look at the boy for a moment, before I then used my Mystic Eyes to predict his future, what would happen if we left him here. Once I saw what his fate may be if we leave him, I then looked for an alternative for his fate. After I was done, I answered, "No. We can't leave him."

My companions turned to me, shocked at what I was saying.

"O-Ojou-sama?" said Hiroko, confused.

I turned to my companions and said, "We're taking him with us."

"B-But, milady-" Sayaka tried to reason.

"If we leave him here, he'll only become a target again." I said, "And if Berserker learns that this boy is still alive, it is most likely she'll come after him again, and then this time, she won't hold back. She will kill him this time, and this time, we won't be able to save his life again. So, we're bringing him with us, back to our mansion."

"I see." said Hiroko.

"Yes, it does seem likely." said Aimi.

"But what'll we do then?" Sayaka asked, "If we bring him with us, then Berserker will be coming to us, too. She won't just come after this kid, she'll come after us, too."

"Yes, that's the plan." I said, as I got up and turned to them, "We'll use him as bait to lure Berserker to us. Once she does, we'll try to finish her off. This will be our only chance to take down Berserker before she goes to finish him off for good." I then looked back to the boy and added, "And besides, believe it or not…he's the one, the final piece for this war, and the key to our goal."

My companions looked at the boy as they thought about what I was suggesting to them. Once they realized what I meant, they looked at me wide eyes, clearly shocked of what I was telling them.

"A-Are you certain…?" Aimi asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am." I said.

"If we bring him to this, there'll be no turning back for him." Hiroko warned.

"I know." I said, "However, I'm certain he's willing to do this. Once we return, prepare another summoning circle. Just trust me."

They looked at the boy for a moment, thinking about the decision that I was giving to them, that they would make, and what may come for him. After enough thinking, they turned to me and nodded as they then bowed and said, "Yes, Ojou-sama."

I nodded and said, "Good. Hiroko, Sayaka, carrying him to our home."

"Yes, milady." said Sayaka.

"As you wish." said Hiroko.

Both of them then proceeded to go and carry him back to our home. I then turned to Aimi who nodded and brought out her machetes in case for protection. We then went back to our home while bringing the boy with us. This plan has to…no, it will work!

* * *

We all made it back home as soon as we could safely without any problems. Hiroko and Sayaka went off to take the boy to bed where he can rest for a while. I laid myself on the couch in the living room as I was tired from what had transpired. I laid my head on a cushion to rest my head and eyes for a while. Aimi brought a cup of tea over for me to drink.

"Ah…thank you…" I said, tiredly.

"You're welcome, milady." Aimi bowed, before she dismissed herself.

I then sighed as I let myself into sleep for a moment.

After a while of sleeping, I woke up as I felt Assassin returning to our mansion, appearing in his materialized form, as he approached me from behind and said, "Forgive me, Master, but I couldn't find Berserker nor her Master."

"I see." I said, as I got up, "Well, no matter. I already have a plan. Berserker will come to us soon enough."

Assassin was silent for a moment, before he took a guess, "And let me guess, you plan to use that boy as bait to lure her here."

"Is that a problem?" I asked, turning to him.

"Well, no, not strategically." said Assassin, as he waved it off with his hand a little, "However, the problem is that boy. What do you plan to do with him afterwards? He's witnessed what has happened tonight, and no doubt, that boy will be scared and confused as to what is going on around him. And, not to sound paranoid, but it's likely that the boy will be going around seeking for help and telling everyone what's happening."

"Hmph." I smiled, before I countered, "Well, that's no problem. Even if he did go around telling everyone what's going on, nobody will believe him anyway. And plus, we could always rewrite his memories, and he'll forget about what he just saw tonight." I then took my cup of tea to take a sip of it, before I added, "Besides, he's the final piece for the war. He's the one for the final Servant, and the key to our cause. He'll be of great use to us."

"…and if he isn't?" Assassin asked.

"If not," I added, as I placed my cup down, "We'll erase his memories."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

W-What…what in the…w-what's…happened to me…last thing I remember was…ah, that's right! I remember!

Remembering what happened tonight, I shot up and…suddenly, I found myself…in a bed? Wait, what happened? Where am I? How did I get here?

I then looked at my chest and noticed something. No way. The injuries I got earlier…they're…gone. But…how? What's going on?

I slowly looked around at my surroundings. I was in a bedroom that looks to be from an elegant household, more specifically, a mansion. Someone must've saved me and brought me here. But, why? For safety? Or something else? Well, I guess I'm gonna have to find out. And lying in bed won't do me any good and won't help me figure out what's going on. I slowly checked myself if I could move for a bit, before I got out of bed and quietly went to the door. I slowly opened the door and took a look outside of the room for a bit, checking if it was clear, before I then went out of the room and quietly shut the door. Outside, I was standing in a dark hallway, so dark that it was almost hard to see at night, with the only light around is the moonlight on a moonlit night.

"Man." I said, quietly, "From the looks of how big this hallway is, I guess I must be in a mansion." I looked around the hallway as I walked around, before I found there were stairs leading downstairs, and added, "Must be a two-story building. I wonder what kind of mansion I'm in. And I wonder why the lights are off? Did…someone forgot to turn on the lights or something?"

Suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me from behind, so I turned around to see what it was, but…as soon as I did, I found nothing. I then sighed as I turned back and said, "I must be imagining things…"

Then, all of a sudden, I felt something, or someone, pushed me down to the ground as they grabbed my arms and locked me down to the ground, before using a hand to put my face down, preventing me from looking at them. Ow, god! It hurts! Ow! Now, what's happening?! What the hell's going on?!

I then heard a girl's voice warned me, "Don't move! And don't struggle!"

I didn't know what on earth was happening, nor did I know who that person was, but I decided to comply and do whatever who this person was said. I nodded a bit, confirming to her that I was doing what she said.

"Good." said the mysterious girl, before she placed what felt like a gun on the back on my head and warned, "If you try to do anything funny, you're a dead man. Got it?"

I nodded, afraid of the gun being pointed behind me.

"Good." she said, before she began interrogating, "Now tell me, what were you doing at the academy so late at night?"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused for bit, before I realized what she was asking and said quickly, "O-Oh! U-U-Uh…w-well, you see…Uh, I, uh…I-I was helping out a club and, uh…I-I stayed behind to check on some stuff to make sure that everything was fine! It was a request from a club member that asked for my help t-to take care of things! T-That's all there it is!"

"Honest?" she asked, "You're not lying?"

"N-No!" I said, "I-I'm not lying! Really, that's all there is, I swear!"

"I see." she said, "Then, what did you do after that? What did you see?"

"W-Well," I said, "Uh…I…I-I was on my way ready to go home, but…t-then I heard some gun shots, and t-the next thing I knew, I saw some strange people fighting against each other, r-really in a strange way, like in some kind of supernatural kind of way, and watching them were four girls, t-they're from the student council, t-that's all I know about them!"

"Then, what?" she interrogated, as she pushed the gun a bit further, "What else happened?!"

"O-O-Okay, okay, okay!" I panicked a little, telling her I'd talk a bit more, "I-I'll talk! I'll talk! J-Just don't shoot me!"

"Then talk!" she threatened, "Or I'll blow your head off!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, continuing what I was telling her, "I-I-I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just don't! W-W-Well, t-t-the next thing I knew, I was spot, and…and then I tried to run away from that blonde woman who spotted me! I-I tried to hide myself, i-i-in order for me to find a way out of…w-whatever the hell was going on! B-But then I was caught, a-and…w-well, t-the last thing I remember, I was…I was being tortured by that woman, and I thought I was gonna die! B-but then everything went black, and…t-t-that's all I know! That's all I know what happened! Believe me, that's all I can remember, I swear!"

"I see." she said, before she removed the gun from the back of my head and said, "Alright, that's all we need to know."

"H-Huh?" I said, trying to get my head to look up. "W-We?"

Suddenly, she pushed me back down and warned, "I said, don't move!"

"Ow!" I shouted, in pain, "O-Okay, okay, okay! I'm not moving!"

"Good." she said, "Now, listen, your life was saved by us and we brought you to this manor so that we could keep you safe. However, your life's still in danger, and that woman who attacked you will no doubt come back to finish you off, and this time, we won't be able to save you again."

"W-What?!" I said, shocked. Now, I'm really scared.

"I know you're scared, and it's only natural that you should be." she said, "But, right now, I need you to calm down and listen to me, very, very closely. I'm only going to say this once. I won't repeat myself afterwards. Understand?"

Oh, man. I really didn't know what to do. I don't wanna die this time. I'm scared, but…yeah, this is the only choice I have. I can't die here this time, not like this. Besides, I think whoever they are, they're actually trying to help me. I'll listen to what this person tells me, and I'll do it.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, before I nodded to whoever it was behind me and said calmly, "Okay, I'm listening."

"Good." she said, before she began explaining, "Now, listen, behind our manor of our backyard, there's something that's hidden deep within the forest. It's something that will help you fight against that woman you just saw, and it requires you to make it work. Go deep into that forest, where finding you will be difficult for that woman, and run away from this manor as far away as possible, and don't stop until you find what's hidden deep in that forest. Find it, and then use it."

"O-Okay." I said, taking it all in, before I asked, "W-Well, what is it that's hidden in that forest? Is it important?"

"You'll find out soon enough." she said, before she continued, "In the meantime, while you go into the forest to look for it, we'll distract that woman and buy you some time until you find it and have it ready. You need to make it quick, or we'll lose, and you'll lose your life this time. You get one chance at this, and you have to make it count. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Good." she said, "That woman is on her way now, so the moment I let go of you, you better start running to the stairs to the backyard as fast as you can and reach deep into the forest, and no matter what, don't look back. Got it?"

I nodded and said a little nervously, "Y-Yeah. Got it."

"Good." she said, "Now, then…" Then, the moment she let go of me, she commanded, "Go!"

The moment she did, I quickly got up on my feet and began dashing as fast as I could to the stairs, reaching downstairs before I began to run to look for the door the backyard, without looking back.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

The moment I let go of him, he began dashing off already without looking back to see me. Good. You better find the summoning circle soon, and you better hurry and summon Saber. Otherwise, it's not just you, we'll all be dead.

I then readied my two handguns as I loaded them with magazines filled with fire-based elemental bullets, preparing myself for a fight.

"Well," I thought to myself, "Here goes nothing."

I then turned around and got myself ready to fight, as I then heard an explosion, and someone crashed in through the roof. Dammit, Berserker's here already! Better fight now!

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I began to panic as I then heard an explosion from upstairs, and then there were gun shots being made. That means she's here already, and someone from before must be fighting her off! Dammit, what do I do?! Should I go back and help her?!

I thought about it for a moment, thinking about what I should do, before I decided, "No, I should do what I was told to do and get to the backyard!"

I heard some more gun shots being made upstairs, before I thought to myself, "I gotta hurry!"

I then began searching my way around the mansion to find the door to the backyard as quickly as I could.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

The moment Berserker showed up in front of me, I opened fire with my two guns and I began shooting at Berserker, creating fire explosions upon impact, creating a large smoke everywhere around the room. I keep on shooting and shooting at Berserker until I ran out of bullets and I quickly reloaded my ammunition, readying myself to fire at Berserker again.

"That should get her…" I said, "Now, did it work?"

As soon as the smoke cleared, however, and to my shock, Berserker appeared with a whimsical smiled, completely unfazed and unscratched.

"Aww~ Was that supposed to hurt~?" she laughed, "How cute~ That only tickled, you know~"

I gritted my teeth in anger and I began firing at Berserker again, despite knowing that shooting her down wouldn't work on her.

"Aww, c'mon~" she said, whimsically, as she was walking close to me, despite me shooting at her, "You know that won't work on me."

Dammit! I hate to admit it, but she's right! No matter how much I kept shooting at Berserker, she's still a Servant, and my bullets, no matter how much they're enhanced with magic, won't faze or even lay a scratch on her!

Before I could even reload my next round, I was grabbed by Berserker, who had already reached me, and then was thrown off to downstairs with powerful force, making me crashed hard onto the floor creating a broken crater.

Luckily, I was able to enhance my body to prevent myself from getting further injured, but it wasn't enough to prevent how much it hurts.

"Owww…!" I groaned, in pain, trying to get myself back up while slowly reloading my guns, "God…fucking…dammit…! C'mon, you dumbass…whatever the hell you're doing, you better hurry…!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I kept looking around the mansion as fast as I could to try to find the exit to the backyard, but I was having no luck as I had no idea where I was going. The mansion was so dark right now, I could barely see anything. As I kept on looking, I heard gun shots, fighting, and explosions being made around the mansion, making me panic. Dammit, what do I do?! Where the hell do I go?!

"Psst!" I heard someone whispered, making me turned around to see a shadow, a silhouette of a girl in a maid costume hiding in the corner, before she whispered to me, "This way, good sir! Follow me!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, "W-what…w-who are-?!"

"There's no time, just trust me!" she whispered, "Hurry!"

She then began to move, running to the direction she wants to lead me to.

"H-Hey!" I shouted, as I ran and began to follow, "W-Wait!"

As I was running after her, she was running ahead, way faster than I am. Man, for whoever this maid is, she sure is super-fast! But I kept running after her as fast as my feet could let me, making sure so that I wouldn't fall behind. I wonder where she's taking me? Maybe the exit to the back? As we kept running, the silhouette of the maid suddenly stopped on her tracks as we reached what seemed like a dead end. I couldn't tell since it was still dark.

I then heard some click, like something was unlocked, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, a door in front of me opened, revealing the backyard that was wide and large, filled with large greenery and had two pillars that were evenly close together on the farther back side, behind it were purple followers grown in the gardens, and sidewalks. Farther behind it were tall trees, revealing to be the dark forest. That must be it. If I go there…

"This is the way out!" said the silhouette girl, "Now, hurry, go!"

"Huh?!" I said, looking at the silhouette of the girl, "B-But, what about-?!"

"We'll be fine, trust us!" she said, before she gave me a sword for me to defend myself, "Take this, good sir. Do not worry about us, now go!"

"O-Okay…!" I said, as I took the sword with me.

We then heard another explosion, some sword clashing, then more gun shots, and fighting going on. The silhouette of the girl then turned and pushed me out of the mansion to the backyard as she shouted, "GOOOOO!"

Hearing her shout prompted me to then to run as fast as I could, running all the way to get into the forest.

* * *

Aimi's POV:

I watched as Shindou-sama ran for his life to reach to the forest. As soon as he made it and got into the forest, he was gone, deep into the forest where no one, not even Berserker could find him…at least, for now.

"Shindou-sama…" I prayed quietly for him, "Please, be safe…"

I then quickly closed the door as soon as I heard another explosion, before I then drew out my machetes and prepared myself for battle. I quickly ran to find Sayaka and Hiroko to aid them.

* * *

Hiroko's POV:

Sayaka and I were thrown back with our backs against the wall as we were both knocked by Berserker, before we landed face on the ground, groaning in pain from the beating and injuries we received from her.

"Damn…!" I coughed and groaned, in pain, as I used my sword to put me back up on my feet, "She's…so strong…!"

"Well, no shit…!" Sayaka coughed and groaned, also in pain, as she tried to get up with her hands on her knees, "Nothing we do is working…!"

Berserker was standing in front of us, with that whimsical smile on her face while laughing at us, "Aww, what's the matter~? Is that the best you can do~?"

"Grrrgh…!" I growled, "God, this woman is starting to annoy me…!"

"Well, for mere girls, you sure know how to fight." she smiled, "Especially against a Servant like me!"

We readied ourselves, preparing to either attack or defend ourselves if she attacks us first.

"Now then, tell me~" said Berserker, as her crimson eyes shined, looking at us like a vampire, "Where did you hide the kid~?"

I scoffed and said, "As if we'd tell you, you monster…!"

"Yeah, what she said…!" said Sayaka, "As if we'd tell you anything, you vampire…!"

Berserker laughed at what we called her and said half-jokingly, "Monster? Vampire? What a terrible thing to say~" She then glared at us with a smile and said, "Though, then again, you're right about me. I AM a vampire, in a way."

I gritted my teeth and growled, before I angrily said, "Just what the hell…kind of Heroic Spirit are you?!"

"Who am I, you asked?" said Berserker, before she chuckled and said, "That…is a good question. Too bad you girls will never know."

Berserker then began to slowly approach us, readying her claws to finish us with a strike. While we tried to back away from her, she continued to walk towards us while saying, "Now, tell me where that kid is, so that I can finish him off, and maybe I'll let you and your boss woman off the hook~"

"Never!" I shouted, "We'll never tell you anything!"

"Aw, c'mon~" she smiled, "You know the rules to the Holy Grail Wars, right~? Anyone who witnesses anything related to the Holy Grail War, such as our fight back at the school, must die and be silenced permanently. That's one of the rules of this Grail War, no~?"

"Yeah, we know…!" said Sayaka, "But we don't like it, so we try to avoid it as much as possible!"

"Oh, then why are you helping the kid in keeping him alive?" Berserker asked, "Because you want to?"

"Our lady's orders." I said, "We're keeping him alive for a reason, and you'll never learn why. And even if you did find out, you'd be dead before you can even say anything to your Master!"

Berserker laughed at my statement and said, "Really~? Well, I don't know what it is, but I can't wait to find out once I'm through with you~"

We kept on walking back until our backs were against the wall, leaving us cornered by Berserker, who then raised her clawed hand up, readying to strike us down. Before she could finish us off, she said, "Well, for what it's worth, you two sure put up a pretty good fight against a Servant like me. But now, it's time to put this…to an end. Starting with you, uh…Mohawk-man?"

"Ugh…" I groaned from hearing that, "OF course, because of my hair…" And I look like a man…

"As I was saying," Berserker continued, with a whimsical smile, "Then the blonde, then the maid, then Mr. Mystery Man, and then the boss woman, all the way to the kid."

"This is bad." I thought.

Suddenly, we looked and noticed Aimi approaching Berserker, stealthily and quietly, from behind. In her hand was a spoke bomb that was infused with lightning-based elements, powerful enough to both blind and electrocute her. Aimi looked at me and gave me a nod, signaling us to give it a go. I nodded back to her without Berserker noticing and then turned back to Berserker, who was now ready to strike us down.

Before she could however, I said, "Well, you're right about one thig, it's time for this to end…but not for us."

This left Berserker confused, just enough for Aimi to jump up and then throw the lightning infused smoke bomb right at her, exploding after making contact and then blinding and electrocuting Berserker, and just given us time for us to escape while she's distracted and screaming from the electrocution.

While we ran for our lives away from Berserker as much as possible, I turned to ask Aimi, "Where's the boy?"

"Already out in the forest." said Aimi, "He should be out finding the circle by now."

"Good." I said, "Then we need to find a bigger space to fight and distract Berserker as much as we can."

"Yeah, okay!" said Sayaka, as she reloaded her ammunition, "But where the hell are we supposed to fight?!"

"The only place we can go is the backyard." I said, "However, that would only risk our plan and the boy's life."

"That is true." said Aimi, "However, I believe we shouldn't worry about Shindou-sama as of this moment, because even if Berserker does enter the forest, the area there is too vast and too deep for her to search for him."

"Well, then, I say fuck it and move it!" said Sayaka, "Besides, there's not enough room for us to use for as a battle ground in here, or even hide for that matter! We need more space!"

Dammit! I hate to say this, but she's right! Besides, even with our lady and Assassin about to aid us now, we don't have any other choice!

"Alright, then." I said, "Let's go!"

"Right!" they nodded.

We then heard an explosion behind us. Berserker must've broken free from the electrocution. We continued to run as fast as we could until we would reach the backyard. We have to hurry!

* * *

Mirai's POV:

Assassin and I were at the roof of the mansion, watching as the boy entered deep into the forest. I asked Assassin since he was using his sniper rifle, "Well, is he in?"

"Yes." he answered, "He's already in. Probably won't be long before he finds the circle."

"Good." I said, "The plan has to work."

"Indeed." said Assassin, "Otherwise, this war will never truly begin."

We then heard felt explosions underneath us, what was happening from the inside. My companions are no doubt trying to buy time. Well, I suppose now we should enter the fight as well.

"Assassin, get ready." I commanded, "We're about to face Berserker again."

"Understood." said Assassin, as he got up and dematerialized his sniper.

He then went over to me to hold onto my waist and then lifted me up, before he jumped off the roof carrying me in his arm. After we landed on the ground, we turned around to face the back of the mansion, as I prepared my gemstones in my hand while Assassin readied his submachine gun and his combat knife. We looked at each other for a moment, before we nodded to each other and readied ourselves.

Then, there was an explosion, and smoke blew out everywhere, causing us to cover our eyes and mouth for a moment before everything cleared, revealing my companions running towards us before they stood right by our sides with their weapons readied as well. We then see Berserker walking towards us, arms behind her back, and with a whimsical smile on her face.

"Wow~!" she smiled, excitedly, "The whole gang's all here~! Now, THIS is gonna be fun~!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I ran deep into the forest as fast as I could, looking for whatever it is that's hidden there, but everything seemed so dark, I could barely see anything. The only light that I have is from the moon.

"Dammit, I can barely see!" I said, "I don't know where I'm going!"

I heard explosions behind me, coming from back at that mansion. Whoever they are must be still fighting that woman. I gotta hurry and find it.

I kept on running and running as fast as my feet could let me, running away as far away as I can go into the forest. But then, I heard a tree branch cracked, and then heard it broke and fell. Oh, crap! That must mean…!

I quickly hid myself by a nearby tree, hiding myself as best as I could to cover myself, and holding onto my breath so that she couldn't hear me breathe.

I then began to hear slow but steady footsteps, as I then heard that woman, "Hmmm~ _Ohh, boy~ Where are you~? Come out, come out, wherever you are~_ "

I did as best I could, trying to not make any sound. That woman must be searching for me. But…what happened to those people?

" _Come on out, boy~_ " I heard her say, " _I know you're here~ You got nowhere to run~ You have no place to hide~ Come on out, come out, wherever you are~_ "

"Dammit, don't move!" I thought to myself, "It's obviously a trap!"

"Hmmm~" I heard her say, "Now, where-oh-where could that little boy, possibly have gone~? I know he's hiding around here somewhere…"

I was sweating from anxiety as I was afraid of what she plans to do, but I remained silent and hidden as I could possibly be. She doesn't know I'm hiding here, and the trees around us can be used as a distraction.

"Hmmm." I heard her say, before I heard what sounded like sharp claws being drawn out, "Maybe, he's hiding somewhere behind those trees~ Maybe I should look for him, by lumberjacking~!"

"Oh, crap!" I thought, in fear, "She's gonna try finding me by cutting down the trees!"

I then heard a tree branch broken down. That woman must be cutting them down to find me! Dammit, I gotta move!

" _Ohh, boy~_ " she called out, while cutting down the trees, " _I know you're hiding here~ Come out, come out, wherever you are~_ " I then heard another tree branch broke down as she called, " _Come on out~_ "

I gotta move! I got out of my hiding spot as quickly while quietly as I could, without having her spotting me yet, as I moved to another hiding spot.

I then heard another tree broke down as the woman said, "Hmmm…not here either…he's gotta be here somewhere…"

I then got out of my hiding spot again quickly and quietly, as I moved to another spot, without getting spotted, trying to get farther away from that woman as much as I can so that she couldn't find me. This is getting bad!

I then heard another tree broke down as the woman groaned and said, "Urgh…dammit! I missed again…where the hell is that kid?!" I then heard her shouted, "Hey, kid! Where the hell are you at?! Come out so I can see you and kill you, and for real this time!" I then heard her broke another tree down before she cursed and shouted, "Goddammit! Where're you at, kid?!"

I stayed where I was, before I looked back a little. I saw the woman was still looking for me, but to no luck. Good. I must've gone very far away from her to make it difficult for her to find me. I sighed quietly in relief, quietly enough so that she couldn't hear me. I'm safe, for now.

Then, I noticed something, something that was far in front of me. What was up ahead, straight ahead of me, was a clear space, a space that was big enough for anyone to go into, and on that space was…a drawing of a strange red circle. What is that? I then remembered what the person said to me. Wait…could this be it?

I looked at it for a moment, before I thought, "Yeah, this has to be it."

I then heard an explosion behind me. I turned to see what it was, before I saw the man in a read cloak and President Tohsaka from before, fighting against that woman again. The man was using a submachine gun while President Tohsaka was using…jewelry? I then watched as Tohsaka threw a red jewel at the woman, before it suddenly exploded as it got close to her, creating an explosion so big, it brought down most of the trees around them, and it got a little close to where I was. Whoa! What in the world was that?! I wonder what's going on?!

I then got myself back together and said to myself, "No! No time for that yet! We need to do this first, ask questions later. I gotta hurry!"

I got out of my hiding spot and ran as fast as I could, running to get to that strange circle. I kept running and running as fast as I could, until finally…I made it! I made it to that space and to the circle. I stopped myself to take a breather for a moment, before I looked at the circle.

The red circle had…very strange yet intriguing drawings in it, like it was made to summon something, but…what?

"Okay…" I said, "So…now what? How am I supposed to use this? W-What am I supposed to do?"

Suddenly, I felt something painful and burning, something was burning into my skin of my left hand. Wait, this burning…! This pain…! It's…just like in my dream! I looked at the back of my left hand, and this time, I swore that there were these strange red markings on my hand, three of them. As the burning continued and the markings were being made until it finally revealed itself, I could finally make out what it looked like. These red markings…one of them looked like a cross, like a sword, while the other two looked like petals or wings on both sides.

"What the…?" I said, looking at it, "What is this…?"

Suddenly, I heard an explosion behind me, and I quickly turned to see it was, and much to my horror, it was that blonde red-eyed woman, who was standing there with her arms crossed while smiling whimsically at me.

"There you are~" she smiled, whimsically, "I finally found you, little boy~"

I was in complete shock and complete horror to see that woman had found me, that I had to step back away from her.

"Oh, come now~" she said, whimsically, "Surely, you didn't think you could hide from me forever, did you, little boy~? For a mere human, you sure have caused me a lot of trouble to find you, you and your little friends protecting you and all~ Though, then again, you're not exactly a mage, so it is pretty hard to find people now a days."

"W-W-What…?" I said, scared and confused, "M-M-Mage…? W-What're you talking about…?"

The woman laughed at my confusion and question and said, "You have ABSOLUTELY no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you, boy?!"

"W-W-What…?" I said, even more confused.

"Well, no matter." she said, as she readied her armed claw, "You'll already be dead before you even find out."

No way…am I…gonna die again…die by that woman…for real this time…without…achieving anything? I'm…really gonna die…here?

* * *

Flashback:

"I'll be your hero." I vowed to Minna that day, as the moon continued to shine down upon us in the night, "I'll become a hero who will protect you, Minna."

I smiled at Minna as I raised my pinkie finger and interlocked it with hers, tightened the lock of the pinkie promise, as I promised her, "Just leave it to me. Someday, you'll be in good hands! I promise, I'll do my best…to be your hero!"

Hearing me vow my promise to her, Minna smiled brightly as she nodded and said happily, "Yeah! I know you will!"

* * *

Now:

I gasped from having that flashback, as that reminder returned me back to reality.

No…I can't…I can't die! I can't die! Not now! I made a promise, that I would be her hero! And I'm GOING TO DO IT!

I looked back at the woman, but this time, not out of fear, but out of determination as I drew out a sword given to me, as I readied myself in a fighting stance.

The woman looked at me surprised for a moment, before she laughed and said, "Oh, c'mon, little boy! You can't be serious! Don't tell me you plan to fight with that toy sword!"

I didn't flinch, I looked at her with an angry look and determination as I said while gripping tightly onto the sword, "I'm…not…running…!"

"Oh?" said the woman, as she looked at me curiously.

"I made a vow…that I will be a hero for someone I care about…!" I said in determination, "And I'm going to do it…even if it means fighting you! Even if it kills me!"

The woman smirked and said as she got in a fighting stance, "Boy, don't make promises you can't keep."

I took a deep breath to ready myself, before I yelled as I charged at the woman and prepared to strike her down from above, aiming for the top of her head to cut her down. Unfortunately, the woman effortlessly blocked my attack with two of her fingers from her left hand, putting me nowhere to strike her down.

"Aww~" the woman smiled, whimsically, "Is that the best you can do~?"

I stepped back away from the woman before I readied myself and attacked her, this time, at her right side, only for the woman to effortlessly block it again with her same fingers. I stepped back again before I tried striking her down, only to be blocked effortlessly again by her. I continued to try striking her down again and again wherever I could hit her, but she continued to effortlessly block all of my attacks, leading me to nowhere near to get to the woman.

"Aww, c'mon, now~" she smiled, whimsically, while continuing to block my attacks effortlessly, "Are your little 'hiyas' really necessary~? So cute~"

She then blocked my next attack on her left before she grabbed my sword and effortlessly crushed it, breaking my sword in two, putting me into utter shock for a moment, before I was pushed to the ground by force from that woman, who simply just pushed me away. It was a light push, yet it also felt forceful.

I laid there on the ground for a moment, before I turned to see that I still had the broken bottom of my sword in my left hand, and I tried to get myself back up.

"Oh, no, you don't~" said the woman, as she came over to me and stepped on my left arm, preventing me from moving it, and keeping me down on the ground, leaving me like a sitting duck. I was trapped.

"It's over, little boy." said the woman, "I am the victor." She then readied her sharp claws and said, "For what it's worth, you were a determined kid, but not good enough. Now, it's time for you to die."

Oh, no! Dammit, I'm dead for good this time!

"Well, then," she said, as she raised her claws up, ready to attack, "Say goodbye, ki-AAUGH!"

Suddenly, she was stopped by an explosion that came from behind her, forcing her to turn behind her away from me. Then there were gun shots being made, one from handguns, and the other from a submachine gun, before there were a few more gemstones that were thrown at her and they exploded. It must be them. This angered the woman as she got her foot off of my arm and paid her attention to them as she went to attack them. I got up back on my feet as I looked to see what was going on.

I then saw President Tohsaka standing in front of me as she stood in a fighting stance with her gemstones in her hands, before she turned a quarter of her head to me as she asked, "Are you alright?"

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused for a bit, before I said, "U-Uh…y-yeah, I'm fine!"

"Good." said President Tohsaka, "We'll keep distracting this woman for a while. Hurry and use the summoning circle. Quickly!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, "W-What?!"

"JUST HURRY UP AND USE IT!" I heard someone screamed, "YOU'RE SO FUCKING SLOW!"

"Hurry, good sir!" I heard another said, "Use the circle, now!"

"B-But how?!" I asked, "I don't know how!"

"JUST FUCKING DO IT!" I heard the same girl screamed, "USE THE DAMN CIRCLE!"

"Don't worry about how to use it!" said President Tohsaka, "Just use the circle! We'll buy time!"

"B-But-"

"Just do it!" said President Tohsaka, before she went off to fight the woman.

I was still in complete shock as to what was going on as I stayed where I was, before I snapped myself back and turned to the circle.

"Okay, okay, okay." I thought, "Okay, uh…w-what do…what do I...what do I do?! What on earth do I do?!"

I tried to figure out what to do to try to use the damn circle, only for me to find nothing I could do. I kept searching and searching, but…I found nothing! Dammit, I don't know what to do! What am I supposed to do?!

I grew so completely frustrated that I screamed out loud and slammed both of my hands on the circle in complete anger. But then, suddenly, the markings on my left hand began to glow bright red, and the circle suddenly started to instantly glow with bright light out of reaction to my markings.

"What the…?" I said, confused, "W-Wha…what's happening?!"

Then, I began to hear the voices, the same voices from my dreams.

" _It is time._ " That one voice said, " _Your time…has come._ "

The voices…

" _You have been chosen._ " another voice said, " _You are the final one._ "

" _You are the final key._ " a third voice said, " _You have now…become a Master._ "

"A…Master?" I said, confused.

" _Yes._ " the voices said to me.

" _Now, chosen one,_ " said the first voice, " _Place your hand…with the Command Seals…onto the summoning circle…and summon your Servant._ "

"M-My hand…?" I said, looking at my left hand, "With a…Command Seals…? This…? And…summon…Servant…?" I then looked at the glowing circle as it continued to glow brightly, before I brought my left hand out to reach for it as I asked, "L-Like this…?"

Then, suddenly, out of reaction to what I did, the circle began to glow even brighter than before, blinding me from seeing what was happening, before I then felt a strong wind blowing out of nowhere, so strong that it was pushing me back. Then, something inside of me, was reacting to that light…to the summoning. I didn't know what, but…it felt like it was pulling me towards it. It wasn't painful, but…it was strong.

"AAAAAUUUGGGHHH!" I screamed, from the blindness and the strong gust of wind, "W-W-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"

And then, a powerful force of power pushed me away, knocking down to the ground. As the light died down and the strange wind stopped blowing, I got myself back up and looked to see what happened, and…to my shock, there was someone standing on the circle, but I couldn't tell who it was because of the smoke around and the silhouette of the person. Then, the smoke cleared out, revealing to me who it was, and…to my shock, it was a woman, and not just any woman. She was…a knight. The female knight turned to look at me, giving a better view of what she looked like.

The woman had blonde hair with the back that is tied together into a bun with a braid and a blue ribbon with a strain of hair sticking out and green eyes and appears to be about 5'1" tall. She wore a blue dress with a long skirt and wore silver shining armor, one on her chest with blue markings, two on her sides of her waist that also match with her skirt, two that were her boots, and two that were her armor gloves, both of them different from the other.

As I continued to look at her, I was…amazed by her. It was…unbelievable. She looks…almost just like Lily.

The woman then spoke to me, "I ask of you…are you the one worthy…to be my Master?"

"W-Wha…?" I said, confused, "Y-Your…Master?"

"I am your Servant, Saber." The woman, now named Saber, introduced herself, "I have come in response to your summons. Your orders, Master?"

"I-I…" I said, "I…I don't…know what's going on…I don't really know any of what's happening right now…but…"

I turned to see the blonde woman, after taking out the others, approaching to President Tohsaka, claws ready to finish her off. I then turned back to Saber and said, "These people, I think…no, they're the ones who saved me, and they need help now! I owe these people, so please, if you could…please help them!"

Saber looked at me for a moment, before she nodded and said to me, "Understood, Master." She then turned to where the woman was, before she said, "Henceforth, my sword will be at your side." She then drew out something, like a sword…but…it was…invisible? I couldn't really tell what it is, as the only thing I could make out what it is as blue magical air, before she added, "Your fate is now my fate, and our pact is now sealed."

Then, with all her power, she went off and charged at an incredible speed, charging towards the woman about to finish off President Tohsaka.

* * *

Berserker's POV:

I looked down at the boss lady who was now on the ground struggling to get up as all of her little friends were down and knocked out as well.

"Well," I smiled, "It's been fun and all, but I gotta end this, so…bye-bye~"

Then, without holding back, I lifted my claws up and went for a strike, as the boss lady closed her eyes, waiting for her end. But then…I heard a clang and felt something.

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, "What?!"

What stopped my attack was, to my shock, another Servant, holding onto something invisible, blocking my attack. Wait…no way. The way she's holding her weapon…which means…

The Servant then let out a yell as she pushed to knock my arm back and went for a swing, which I dodged and backed away from, before I landed farther away from her.

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "A Saber?! But how-?! Huh?!"

I then saw the kid coming to the boss lady to help her and her friends up, before I noticed something on his left hand. Wait…those markings…

"Ohh, I see." I smiled, in realization, "I don't know how, but it seems the kid has become a Master."

Suddenly, Saber appeared in front of me and swung her invisible weapon at me, and a powerful force pushed me back as I was suddenly forced to cover myself from that.

"Hey!" I complained, before suddenly I felt pain in my stomach. What?! I was injured?! Impossible!

"Berserker," said Saber, "I am your opponent. If you simply stand there and do not come to me, then I will come to you." Saber then got into a stance and demanded, "So, come, face me."

"GRRR…!" I growled, "Okay, now I'm mad!"

We both charged at each other and began to clash against each other with our weapons, trying to exchange blows against one another. We then began to clash against each other's weapons multiple times, faster than the eye could see.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I lifted President Tohsaka up on her feet as I carried her somewhere safe. I then placed her near a nearby tree where her friends were and asked out of concern, "Hey, are you alright?!"

President Tohsaka took a breather for a moment, before she calmly smiled and said, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Oh, okay." I said, relieved, "That's good."

"But, more importantly," she said, "You did it. You summoned Saber."

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, yeah…I guess, I did? I honestly don't know what's going on right now."

"We will explain later, Shindou-sama." said Aimi, as she came over, "But for now, watch over the fight. Do not worry, we can treat ourselves."

"O-Oh, okay." I said.

"And do not worry." said President Tohsaka, stopping me for a minute, "We promise to answer all of your questions."

I nodded to her before I went to watch what was happening between Saber and the woman called Berserker. As I watched their fight, I was amazed by what was happening.

Saber and Berserker were clashing their attacks against one another in an incredible speed, it was so fast that I couldn't even keep up with what they were doing. However, despite that, I could already tell that Saber had the advantage because of her invisible weapon. Saber then pushed Berserker away with a powerful swing of her weapon, sending her back, before Saber charged up at her, did a twirl of her body, and went for a strike from above. Berserker managed to block her attack, but the powerful force that Saber had made from her strike created a crater underneath Berserker, and it was causing Berserker to struggle before she pushed Saber away, creating a distance from each other. Berserker then charged at Saber with her claws ready, as she tries to get a hit on Saber, but Saber managed to block all of Berserker's attack with her invisible weapon and unpredictable speed. Saber then kicked Berserker in the stomach, pushing her away.

"Aww, jeez!" Berserker whined, "What kind of Saber uses an invisible weapon to fight?!"

"What's wrong, Berserker?" said Saber, "Do you plan to just stand there and give yourself and all those with raw power a bad name? If you do not come to me, I shall go to you."

Berserker sighed and said, "Well, before you do, let me ask you something. That invisible weapon of yours…is your sword really a Noble Phantasm?"

Saber smirked and said as she brought her weapon close to her, "Who knows? Perhaps, perhaps not. It may be a battle axe or a polearm, or it might even be a bow, or even a lance. However, unfortunately for you, you'll be finished here before you even find out what it is."

Berserker laughed at what Saber had said and said, "You're really funny, swordswoman!"

Berserker was about to attack Saber again, but then suddenly, she stopped for some reason. She then turned around and said…to nobody? "Ehh~?! Seriously~?! You want me back now~?! I can't believe this~!" Berserker then sighed in frustration, before she smiled whimsically at us and said, "Sorry~! My stupid Masters are calling me back to them now~! I'm afraid we're gonna have to call this fight on hold for today~!"

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"Wait!" said Saber, sternly, "So, you're running away, now?!"

Berserker turned around away from us and said, "Sorry~ But, I've been ordered to~ If you'd like to come with, you can~ But if you do…" she turned her head towards us, revealing her glowing red eyes and said darkly, "…then you'll better prepare to die."

Berserker then jumped up high and began to disappear into blue dust until she was gone.

"Wait!" Saber shouted, but was already too late, "Damn, she got away…"

Saber then turned to me as I came over to her and asked out of concern, "Hey, uh…are you okay? Uh…Mrs. um…"

"Saber." she said, "You can call me Saber, Master. And yes, I'm alright."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, anyway, that was amazing! How'd you do that?!"

"As you can see, Master, I am a Saber-Class Servant." said Saber, "I am a Servant that is here to battle alongside you in the Holy Grail War."

"Uh…what?" I said, confused, "I'm sorry, Master? Servant? Holy Grail?"

Saber sees my confusion and said, "You seem confused about what I'm saying, Master."

"Oh, well, sorry." I said, apologetically, "It's just…I have absolutely no idea what on earth is going on."

"I see." said Saber, "I understand your confusion. Perhaps an explanation for you could do you good?"

"Uh…yeah." I said, "I really wanna know what's going on."

"And I will answer all of your questions." I heard someone said.

I turned around to see President Tohsaka and her friends, as well as the man in a red hood, coming towards us. President Tohsaka then stepped up and said, "Hello again, Yuzuru Shindou, final Master of the Grail War, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Mirai Tohsaka, heiress to the House of the Tohsaka Family, and I…am a mage."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	7. Chapter 1

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We were in the living room discussing about what they know, about mages, Magecraft, the mage world, things related to magic…well, I think anyone can get the idea. I was sitting in the couch with Saber sitting alongside me that was the opposite of President Tohsaka, who was having tea while three her friends, who're also her servants, were standing there, not moving or leaving President Tohsaka's side, while the man in the red hood, apparently named Assassin, was leaning against the wall. Everything was quiet for a moment, as I tried to take all the information that they gave me in, before I spoke first.

"So, magic…" I said, "And mages…they're all real?"

"Seriously?" said Tsukuda-san, "That's your first question?"

"Well, it's no surprise." said Ishikawa-san, "This whole thing is new to him."

"Uh…sorry." I said, "It's just…it's a lot for me to take in and all."

President Tohsaka placed her tea on the table before she said, "To answer your question, mages have always existed since the Age of Gods, the period where it began with the genesis of the Earth until the beginning of the Common Era around 0 AD, during which the world followed laws based not on physics but on Mystery. And, in a sense, yes, magic and Magecraft has also existed since the Age of God. However, magic and Magecraft are two different things. Magecraft, or Thaumaturgy, is the artificial reenactment of Mystery, which is ordinarily possible only by inhuman beings. It is the ability to bring about what is possible through science with supernatural means, and although the process is considered a miracle, the result is not. In other words, it is a practice of magic. The limits of Magecraft have changed with time, as science evolved and Magic from the past became possible through science. There is no impossibility for Modern Magecraft within the rules of the world and anything within the limits of human intellect is possible, although there are imitations where it only appears that something is possible. However, because Magecraft acts as the reenactment of preexisting phenomena that already exist in the world, it is impossible to use it to create new Mysteries; even with an infinite amount of research, there exists a "wall" that prevents the wisdom of humans from doing so in the current era. The realm past this "wall" is known as Magic. Modern Magecraft remains inferior to Magecraft from the Age of Gods in terms of magnitude, because magi from the past acquired their magical energy directly from the Root, also known as the Akasha. The difference between the Magecraft of the past and the Magecraft of the present can be explained by the difference in civilizations; while the civilization of the Age of Gods existed side-by-side with the truth, the civilization of the Age of Man exists to search for the truth. Magic, on the other hand, or also referred to as True Magic and Sorcery in other translations, is the highest class of Mystery that surpasses Magecraft and all current sciences of that age. It represents the actualization of events that are impossible to reproduce in a certain era, whether by humans or the planet, even if given an infinite amount of time and resources. The acquisition of the capacity to perform magic is considered the ultimate accomplishment of a Magus, and only within the grasp of those who have accessed the Swirl of the Root. "Magic" is differentiated from "Magecraft" in that the consequences of its use are ostensibly "impossible" or "miraculous." The end output of a spell that creates fire is within dictates of the world because something as mundane as lighting a match can yield the same effect. Concepts like time manipulation, teleportation, spatial warping and quarantine, and the resurrection of the dead are miracles thought to be possible only through the application of Magic. The Denial of Nothingness, Operation of Parallel Worlds and Time Travel can all perform resurrections, but the resurrection of the dead through conventional methods is something that not even Magic has granted since the days of old. Magecraft can be classified as human wisdom and the world, while Magic is the solitude outside of that, included in neither. Magecraft focuses on the studying of history, the works of man and the circle of life of the planet, but Magic is considered the providence of a god beyond the skies."

"So, in other words, what your doing is magic, but at the same time, it's not magic." I concluded.

"Correct." said President Tohsaka.

"Okay…" I said, "So, then, that's who you people are then? Mages?"

"That is correct." said President Tohsaka, "And I'm sure you're wondering, why does such thing never come in public, and why ordinary people have never heard of nor learned about such things."

"Well, yeah, sort of." I said.

"Well, that is because, as you can see, magic had cease to exist in the eyes of those outside of the mage world, such as yourself. However, those who does Magecraft continues their practices in Magecraft in secret away from the eyes of many. And, due to the laws of the mage world, no outsiders of the mage world should become aware of Magecraft, and should anyone witness any mages who uses Magecraft, they must either have their memories rewritten or erased, or be silenced by death, permanently."

"Whoa…" I said, a little shocked, "That…sounds harsh."

"Indeed." said President Tohsaka, "However, it is necessary for mages to keep outsiders away from all of what involves Magecraft, because it could cause panic to anyone who is frightened by what unnatural that they have seen, or it could bring in those hungry for power and would have them go through lengths to gain what Magecraft could offer them, only to lead it to chaos."

"I see." I said, "So, why are you telling me, a normal guy, all of this?"

"Because you are different from those people who are either scared of magic or people who wants power out if it." President Tohsaka answered, "From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were far different than everyone else."

"I am?" I asked.

"Yes." said President Tohsaka, "You may not realize it now, but you are able to adapt to what you have seen and what I have told you, despite the flaws that you have. Even after I told you everything about the mage world, you don't show any signs of fear nor hunger for power. You have so much potential, as proof of the Saber-Class Servant you have right beside you."

I looked at Saber, who was sitting beside me with her eyes close. She must be listening to our conversation without looking at us. I then turned back and began to ask, "So, then…President Tohsaka, about this Holy Grail War?"

"Right, onto the next topic." said President Tohsaka, "Oh, and by the way, there is no need for formalities just because I'm student council president. You may simply call me Mirai. I'm used to being called by my first name, anyway."

Oh, uh…right." I said, "Then, uh…Mirai-senpai? I mean, you are like a year older than I am."

She chuckled a bit and said, "Fair enough. Anyway, straight to the point. The Holy Grail War, it is a battle royale where 7 mages become known as Masters to fight against one another to the death with each of their 7 spiritual beings all known as Servants. By the way, do you notice the red markings on the back of your hand?"

"Red markings?" I said, confused for a minute, before I realized what she meant and then said as I showed my marks to her, "You mean this?"

"That is correct." said Mirai-senpai, "Those three red markings are called Command Seals. Command Seals are three claims of absolute obedience, the crystallization of great magic, that a Master has over a Servant in the Holy Grail War system. Unable to normally be controlled by humans, they are burdened by the "absolute condition for materialization", the authority of the Command Seals carved into them at the moment of summoning. They are holy marks signifying a magi's status as a Master. Command Seals compel a Servant to perform a specific action. For example, a Servant such as yours is incapable of teleporting from this place, however, if you order via the Command Seal, it would use both your mana to make the teleportation very possible. The three seals are the crystallization of high magic, overcoming the limits of flesh and blood."

"So, in other words," I said, "The more specific the command I make, the stronger the command becomes."

"That's right." said Mirai-senpai, "And if you use vaguely worded orders, the Command Seals are less effective on a Servant."

"Servants…" I said, while looking at Saber, then the red hooded man, "You mean like them?"

"Yes, that is correct." said Mirai-senpai, "Servants are spiritual beings made into special familiars of the highest rank that are bound to the Master. They are Heroic Spirits, spirits of the legendary epic heroes who achieved great deeds in life, having become objects of worship after their deaths, and/or Divine Spirits, the classification for the highest rank of Nature Spirit, and is the name for the remnants of gods after the deterioration of the Age of Gods, summoned by the Holy Grail for the purpose of competing under Masters in the Holy Grail War. These 7 Servants are divided into each separate class. What you have here is a Saber-Class Servant, mine is an Assassin, and the woman we fought earlier was a Berserker. The 4 other Servant Classes are Lancer, Archer, Rider, and Caster."

"I see." I said, taking it all in, "So, then, these Servants are in different classes for a reason."

"Correct." said Mirai-senpai, "Sabers are known for specializing in swords and close combats. The Servants of that class are known as the most powerful and strongest class. Lancers are known for specializing in spears and midrange combats. Archers are known for specializing in arrows or other projectiles in combats and long-range attacks. Riders are known for specializing in riding skills and uses it to ride on horses, chariots, cars, or any other living things or vehicles that involves in riding. Casters are known for specializing in spellcasting and any sorts of feet of magics, like us mages, but are much ancient and much stronger than us regular mages. Assassins are known for specializing in stealth and any sorts of tricks and lethal tactics that involves in assassination. The Servants of that class are known as the weakest class. And Berserkers are known for losing all sense of rationality and sense of souls or consciousness for raw powers and incredible immense strength, and while they are powerful, they are also quite dangerously threatening, both for life of Masters and others."

"I see." I said, "So, this…Holy Grail, do you mean the actual Holy Grail made by God or something?"

"No, not quite." said Mirai-senpai, "The Holy Grail that we speak about is not the Grail from Christianity. This Holy Grail, the one made for the Holy Grail War, is the omnipotent wish granting device that will grant the one wish of any Master and Servant pair who would claim victory for it, if one pair of Master and Servant defeats all others."

"I see." I said, taking it all in, "So then, if you win the Holy Grail War by killing other Masters and Servants, you could wish for whatever you want from that Holy Grail?"

"That is correct." said Mirai-senpai, "However, there have been no victor of a Master and Servant who had yet to have their wish granted. Not yet, at least."

"I see." I said.

"So," said Mirai-senpai, "Have you managed to take all of it in?"

"Well, sort of." I said, "I mean, it's gonna be a lot for me to get used to, but, yeah, I think I manage to get it all in." Then, a thought came to me, so I asked, "Wait, Servants are heroes from the past, right? If they're from the past, then that's gonna be a problem for them here in the present, so shouldn't we at least try to help them get to learn about the modern world? I mean, there's no way that they'll be able to understand anything about the modern world, right?"

Before Mirai-senpai could say anything, Assassin spoke up and answered, "Very appreciative, kid, but that won't be necessary."

"Huh?" I said, turning to him, "W-What do you mean?"

"When we Servants are summoned into the modern world, the Holy Grail grants us knowledge, information, and understanding about the modern world required to allow us to fit into any era." Assassin answered, "No matter how ancient the Heroic Spirit, Servants should understand a number of concepts that were not known in their time. For example, if a Rider-Class Servant sees and enters a vehicle of your time, then they would be able to have an understanding on how the vehicle works and how it is driven, despite the unfamiliarity."

"Oh." I said, "So, in other words, we have nothing to worry about, because you already know about things in the modern world, thanks to the Holy Grail."

"In a sense, yes." said Assassin, "Though sometimes it's not necessarily true."

"Thank you, Assassin." Mirai-senpai nodded to Assassin, before she turned to me and said, "In any case, you have no need to worry about it. Now, do you have any question?"

I thought about it for a moment, before I said, "Well, I do have one. Do you know how this Holy Grail War began?"

"You wish to know the full history?" Mirai-senpai asked.

"Well, yeah." I said, "I mean, I'm still kinda new to all of this stuff. About the mage world and about this Holy Grail War. I just…thought I'd know how it all started."

"I see." said Mirai-senpai, "Well, I could explain it to you, but I believe I should have someone else do it for me." She got up from her seat before she turned to Aimi and said, "Aimi, prepare my coat for me. We'll be going to meet the overseer of the Holy Grail War."

"As you wish." Aimi bowed, before she turned and went.

Mirai-senpai then turned to me and asked with a smile, "Would you like to take a walk?"

"Uh…sure." I said, "But, where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough." said Mirai-senpai, "Come with us."

* * *

We were out walking on the streets in the middle of the night. Mirai-senpai was wearing her red coat, her bodyguards were walking beside her, while Saber, wearing a yellow coat as a disguise for some reason, and I were walking behind them with Aimi walking along side us being out escort. For some reason, though, I don't see Assassin anywhere. Maybe they left him behind?

"If you're wondering where Assassin is, you don't need to worry." said Mirai-senpai, "He's with us, he's merely taking spiritual form in order for him to move freely, so you can't see him."

"Oh, I see." I said, a bit surprised, "I didn't know Servants can do that."

"Well, Servants are familiars, Shindou-sama." said Aimi, "So, it is hardly that surprising."

"I see." I said, before I realized something, and then I turned to Saber and asked, "Hey, Saber, if you're a Servant like Assassin, then shouldn't you be able to do that, too? I mean, like, go invisible?"

Saber remained quiet for some reason, not answering my question.

"Hey, Saber?" I said, trying to get her attention, "Did I…uh…say something wrong? Or, maybe it has something to do with me, not being a mage? I mean-"

"No, Master." Saber spoke up, as she turned to face me with a small smile, "Rest assured, it's not you that's the problem, nor does it have anything to do with you not being a magus. There's…a reason for that."

"A reason?" I asked.

"I'll explain it to you once we're finished seeing the overseer." said Saber, "For now, we'll need to follow them, so that you'll have a better understanding about the Holy Grail War."

"Oh." I said, "Well, okay."

We kept on walking for a long while until we came to…a church?

"Wait, isn't this the Fuyuki Church?" I asked, "Why here?"

"This is where the overseer resides." said Mirai-senpai, "The priestess here is the one who acts as a third party, keeping an eye on the progress of the Holy Grail War and ensuring that nothing goes wrong. The priestess here is also the one who has knowledge about the events of the past Holy Grail Wars, from the beginning to the last Holy Grail War."

"Really?" I said, surprised, "I didn't even realize that there were other past Holy Grail Wars besides this one."

"The Holy Grail War today that we're in now is the Sixth Holy Grail War." said Tsukuda-san.

"You thought this was the only one?" Ishikawa-san asked.

"Well, I mean, no, not really." I said, "I mean, a little, but…I guess if the church had been around to keep an eye on the Holy Grail War, then they must've kept a lot of records. I have a feeling that there's more to it than that."

"Well, rest assured, you'll be learning more about them soon enough." said Mirai-senpai, "So, shall we go in?"

"Uh, yeah." I said, as I began to follow them inside. I then stopped to see Saber staying where she was, so I turned to her and asked, "Aren't you coming, Saber?"

"I'll be staying outside and wait for you." said Saber, "I wish to stay put from this building until you make your return, just for precaution. And besides, I need to keep a look out so that no enemy Servant would follow and come to us."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, okay, then. I'll be back."

I then turned and went inside the church with Mirai-senpai and her friends. I need some more answers.

* * *

We entered the church, and it was dark inside, and the only light we had was the moonlight, but I could tell that the inside of the building was very large, as this large room had seats for praying in the church that was lined up in rows of four, and at the front of was where the large table for the priests of the church resides with the large window behind it, a cross of the church standing in the middle, a piano set on the right side, and other chairs and/or desks at the left side. At the front was a person kneeling before the cross. I guess that must be the priestess.

I took a step forward and asked, "Uh…excuse me, are you the priestess of this church and the overseer of…well, regarding the Holy Grail War?"

The moment I said that, the priestess stopped praying to stand up on her feet and turn around, revealing to me her appearance. The priestess had a long light grey hair, slightly pale skin, and golden eyes, and stands about 5'1" tall. She wears a church robe that is dark blue and white, and wears black boots, while under her left sleeves, her left arm was covered in bandages.

She looked at me for a moment, before she said with a stoic yet slightly surprised face, "My, don't we have a new face." She then answered my question as she introduced herself, "Yes, I'm the priestess of the Fuyuki Church, and the overseer of this current Holy Grail War. I am Caren Hortensia. Nice to meet you."

"Uh…yeah, it's nice to meet you, too, priestess." I bowed to her, "Uh…my name is Yuzuru Shindou, and…I'm a Master of Saber in this Holy Grail War."

"Yuzuru Shindou…" said the priestess, as she looked at me for a minute, before she said, "Huh. Indeed, you're certainly a new face. I've never seen nor heard of a mage like you before."

"Uh…actually, priestess, I'm not really a mage." I said, "I'm just a normal guy who got dragged into this Holy Grail War mess."

"Oh, is that so?" she said, stoically, "Huh. I almost feel sorry for you for being caught in a middle of that mess, Mr. Poor Useless Dog."

"Ugh…!" I said, feeling stunned, while I heard snickering behind me, "Uh…okay, uh…was that-?"

"I was joking, you whinny dog." she cut me off, "I don't feel sorry for you, stupid barking mongrel."

"Urgh…!" I said, feeling stunned again, "Okay, seriously, are you really a priestess, or are you just making fun of me?"

"Does it matter?" she said.

"Ugh…!" I grumbled a little, before I said, "Okay, look, I really have absolutely no idea what's going on. I just had a crazy night tonight. I almost got killed by Berserker twice, I've seen crazy magic and supernatural going on, and I almost felt like losing my mind since all that craziness. So, I really, really need some explanation!"

"Is that so?" she smirked a little, before she said stoically, "Huh. Now I wonder if I should feel bad for you or not for almost getting killed, not that I care about it for you, worthless maggot."

I grumbled again and said almost angrily, "Okay, seriously, aren't you a priestess or something?! How about a little compassion or something?!"

"Hmph." she smirked, "Do I look like someone who's compassionate for you, little dumb doggy?"

Okay, seriously, what is wrong with this priestess?!

"Alright, that's enough, Caren." said Mirai-senpai, as she placed her hand on my shoulder to calm me down, "As entertaining as that was, that's not the real reason we're here. We came to help Yuzuru understand about the Holy Grail War. So, can we please get straight to business?"

The priestess looked at Mirai-senpai for a moment, before looking back at me and said, "Very well then, let's get straight to the point. Honestly, I'm actually quite surprised that a newcomer like you would end up becoming a Master, let alone being a Master of Saber. Though, then again, this isn't the first time a non-mage has entered the Holy Grail War."

"Really?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Tell me, Yuzuru Shindou," said the priestess, "How much do you know about the Holy Grail War from these people?"

"From Mirai-senpai and her friends?" I said, before I thought about it, and then I answered, "Well, from what they've told me, I know that it's a competition where 7 mages become Masters paired up with 7 spiritual being called Servants, and that the 7 pairs of Masters and Servants must fight against each other to the death, in order to win a golden cup called the Holy Grail. Am I right?"

"My, the little puppy sure is well informed about things." the priestess smirked, as I groaned from her calling me that, before she answered, "Yes, that is correct. To be specific, it is a ritual that would decide the ownership of the omnipotent device, the one you know as the Holy Grail, in order to obtain a miracle from it. As you can guess, this Holy Grail is not the one from Christianity, the Christian holy relic that received the blood of Christ, but rather, this Holy Grail is the prototype of an even more ancient omnipotent container. When we say "omnipotent", it means that the Holy Grail has unlimited power that can grant any and all miracles. Or, of course, in your words, grant any and all wishes, whether it is good and selfless, or evil and selfish. For example, if you wish for something good and selfless, then you can either ask it for world peace and happiness for everyone, or if you wish for something evil and selfish, then you can either ask for immortality and eternal youth, or even the destruction of the entire world itself."

"I see." I said, "But, if the Grail really is a powerful thing, then shouldn't Masters and Servants at least share it instead of fighting over it?"

"As fair and logical as that might be, I'm afraid it is not that simple." said the priestess, "You see, despite being an omnipotent wish granting device, the Grail can only grant but one wish. It was not any of us that decided that factor, but rather, the Grail itself was the one that decided it."

"The Grail decided it?" I asked.

"Correct." said the priestess, "All of this is the work of the Holy Grail itself. Because of that reason, it leads to conflicts and opposing ideals of what wishes that any Master desire must be granted, so much so that it would even cause to lead to bloodshed."

"So, in other words, fighting and killing each other is necessary for both Masters and Servants." I said.

"That is right." said the priestess, "That is exactly how it happened in the very "first" Holy Grail War. Over 200 years ago, this system was found and established by the Three Founding Families, the family of mages who created a powerful object known as the Greater Grail, the gateway linked to the Root and the ultimate prize for the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, and is in essence, a wishing machine." The priestess then looked at Mirai-senpai and added, "Her family, the Tohsakas, was one of the founding families."

"Whoa…!" I said, surprised and amazed, before I looked at Mirai-senpai and asked, "Really?"

Mirai-senpai nodded in response.

I then looked back at the priestess as she added, "The other founding members were the Einzberns and the Makiris." She then continued, "The original purpose of the ritual was to recover the Third Magic lost by the Einzberns, also referred as Heaven's Feel, or the "Cup of Heaven". Around 1790, the ancestors of the Three Founding Families, Justizia Lizleihi von Einzbern, Nagato Tohsaka, and Zouken Makiri, created the system to create a gate leading to Akasha. At that time, the Mage's Association and the Holy Church were locked in a battle to the death, so a land in the Far East, where the Church could not monitor, was chosen. The Einzberns provided the alchemy to create it and prepared the vessel for the Grail, the Tohsaka provided the necessary land and called forth the Servants, and the Makiri assembled the magecraft to stabilize the starting materials and designed the Command Seals that command the Servants. Back when the Tohsaka were developing the ritual of the Heaven's Feel along with the Makiri and the Einzbern, one of Mirai's ancestors, Nagato's daughter, played a greater role in the completion of the Holy Grail War system than her father. The Holy Grail War itself was devised by Justizia, and she was to become the key of the ritual. The Great Grail was created through forming a large circuit from many multi-layered Crests carved onto a bare rock over fifty meters in diameter. It was covered in multiple layers of circuits, while its many geometric figures turned in place. Justizia stood in the center of it and became the key to reenacting the Third Magic. The Holy Grail would have only been just a Holy Grail without her, as her will was required for Heaven's Feel. Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg, the teacher of the Three Founding Families, acted as a witness to the event."

"I see." I said, "Then, that's where the first Holy Grail War started."

"Correct." said the priestess, "The First Holy Grail War took place around 1800. However, it was not meant to be anything like the future Holy Grail Wars. Back then, it was not named as such, as it was only meant to be a ritual for the families to reach Akasha. It took ten years from its establishment to gather the necessary energy to manifest. However, the Three Families who were originally planning to utilize it realized that the system could only allow for one person to utilize it. Though they had the same goals, their opinions on how to reach them were different, so the unforeseen aspect caused them to break off their alliance. Instead, they agreed to proceed with the system and the means to create the Grail, but they would then become enemies when it was summoned. Due to requiring seven Heroic Spirits to achieve the ritual and seven Masters to summon them, they had brought in four outside magi with the call of "We've succeeded in manifesting the Grail. If you'd like to witness this miracle, join us and become Masters." Though the outsider magi had only sought to learn about the ritual of activating the Grail, they used the internal quarrel as an opportunity to grant their own desires. Though the Three Families held the rights to the Grail, winning the conflict would allow them to obtain a wish regardless of the ancestry. It was not a major conflict in the end and can be called a "small quarrel of sorts" due to the conflicting opinions and interests. From the point of view of the Einzberns, the first time ended before the completion and the evocation site of the Grail was held at Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou. That was how the Holy Grail War came to be. Sixty years later, The Second Holy Grail War was held, formally taking on the name of the "Holy Grail War". Developing into a war for the second time, it pointed out shortcomings in the rules due to it developing into a murder spree in which nobody survived. It ended with no victory, and the Three Families took it as a lesson to create more precise rules such as bringing in a third party, the Holy Church, an international religious organization styled after the real Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general populace, and the Church is responsible for the cover up work in which they manipulate any and all information by modifying the memories of the victims and covering up the battle damage while the Mage's Association handles the media."

Before I could ask anything, Mirai-senpai stepped in and answered, "It was a way to cover up what was going on to ensure that there wouldn't be any chaos or panics. Since the First and Second Holy Grail War, they needed someone from the Holy Church, such as the priestess, Caren Hortensia, to ensure that everyone is kept safe and that everything regarding to the Holy Grail War does not go to the public. Should anyone learn about it or even witness anything related to the Holy Grail War, it would put them to death. Just as what happened to you, or at least, would've happened to you."

"I see." I said, "But the Holy Grail War doesn't end there, does it?"

"That's right." said the priestess, "The Third Holy Grail War took place in the 1930s, held on the eve of World War II. The fourth evocation site was confirmed and established, later becoming the center of the developing residential area of Shinto, the Fuyuki City Hall. Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the eighth head of the Einzbern family, prepared the Einzbern forest and the Einzbern castle as the family's headquarters. The Tohsaka, Mirai's family, and the Edelfelt, her rival family, were participants. The Edelfelts had two Masters, the Edelfelt sisters, each of them with the same Saber-class Servant due to their unique Sorcery Trait. The Einzberns, who were tired of losing out on reclaiming the Third Magic, subverted the usual system in order to summon and obtained an Avenger-class Servant, the Heroic Spirit of Vengeance and an Extra Servant Class, which replaced the Berserker-class, but that Servant was a very weak Servant without any abilities, thus the Einzberns lost and failed in the war. During the War, there were battles over the Lesser Grail with the Imperial Army and the Nazis as well, and the fighting unfolded in the Imperial Capital. As mentioned, Avenger was lost early during the conflict, putting the Einzberns to their loss, and while upholding the Saber Class' reputation, at least one of the Edelfelt sisters made it to the end. Unfortunately, they were ultimately defeated by the Tohsaka, and while the fate of the younger sister of the Edelfelt became unknown, the older sister ran away from the country, promising never to come back again. The Lesser Grail was destroyed during the battles before the victor could be decided, so the ritual became meaningless and failed. The evocation site of the Grail was set to be at the Fuyuki Church. There was a meeting held at a suitable time that appointed the then young Risei Kotomine as the supervisor for the next Holy Grail War. The ritual ended in failure, thus, like the last two Grail Wars, had no victor."

"I see." I said.

"So, then," said the priestess, "After learning about the origins of the Grail War and how it works, what're your thoughts on it?"

"Well," I said, "To be honest, it sounds intense…and brutal. Masters and Servants fighting against each other for the Holy Grail, it sounds…overwhelming. I don't…even know if I should be able to do that, killing other Masters."

"Well, if you have no desire in participating, then why not use up all your Command Seals and break your pact with Saber?" the priestess suggested.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"You should know that the Command Seals that you have represents that you're a Master, representing the bond and pact between you two, and that you would do whatever you will saying simple commands with it." said the priestess, "Should you use up all of your Command Seals with whatever meaningless commands you bring out, your pact with Saber will be severed and you'll no longer be known as a Master. It's as simple as that. That is, if you don't want any part in this Holy Grail War."

I looked at the Command Seals that I have in my hand for a moment. Using up all my Commands Seals, and sever my pact with her? Can I really…no, should I really do that?

"The decision is all up to you." said the priestess, "Not that I care, anyway."

"Can I ask some things?" I asked, "Let's say if I were to participate and not sever my pact with Saber, what should I do in this Holy Grail War? Should I really fight against other Masters and Servants? And do I really have to kill other Masters who're people just like us? What would be the point in that?"

"My, aren't you a curious one." said the priestess, surprised, yet her face remained stoic, "Well then, I'll answer them for you. As you are aware, this is the battle royale where one must fight against the other for the Holy Grail, so should you participate in this Holy Grail War, then you must fight against other Masters in order to win such a prize. So yes, you must fight against other Masters, if you participate. And since this battle royale is a battle to the death, you must of course fight against other Masters and Servants to the death. Masters and Servants are both tied together through their pact, bounded by each other's fates and destiny, so should a Master die, then their Servant will die as well. In other words, should you die, Saber will die as well."

"And while it's true that killing Masters is the most effective to defeat and destroy all other Servants, that is not necessarily the case." Mirai-senpai added, "Masters and Servants can also fight against and then kill a Servant without having the need to kill a Master, and any Master who loses their Servant can either let themselves get killed or be sent here to the church for shelter."

"Wait, really?" I asked, surprised, "They can do that?"

"Of course." said Mirai-senpai, "This is what the Holy Church is for. As mentioned before, they keep any and all outsiders unaware of and away from anything related to the Holy Grail War, but also keep other Masters who lost their Servants safe and sound away from the fighting should they seek shelter from them. It is a…safe mechanism, you could say, for anyone who wish not to die in any sorts of battle."

"I see." I said.

"Now then, Yuzuru Shindou," said the priestess, "Now that you know much about the Holy Grail War, what shall you do now? Will you participate, knowing that you can never turn back and return to your life again? Once you take part I the Holy Grail War, your life will never be the same again. Well, what is your decision?"

I took a deep thought about what they said for a moment. Everything they've told me so far, it really seems crazy. But…at the same time, I think it might…

"Priestess Hortensia, I have one more question." I said, "If this is the Sixth Holy Grail War, then what about the other two Grail Wars before this one? Is there anything like an event that's related to those two?"

The priestess looked at me for a moment, before she asked me, "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Great Fire of Fuyuki?"

I took in what she asked me, before I answered, "Yeah, of course. I learned about it some time ago after I moved here." I then began to describe it, "It all happened 20 years ago, when a great and massive fire appeared out of nowhere and began to burn and destroy everything in sight. The great fire burned down and destroyed most of the entire Fuyuki City, destroying everything and killing everyone caught in sight of that massive fire, leaving only little to no survivors. Those very few who did survive from the most horrific tragedy of that fire were mostly orphaned kids, and all of the people who had died by that fire 20 years ago were only left as memories, long gone from the lives of loved ones, or even forgotten. The orphans from that tragedy were either left to the orphanage where their whereabouts soon became unknown or taken in by people who also suffered the same loss as those orphans." I then realized something and asked, "Does that have something to do with the last Grail Wars?"

"Correct." said the priestess, "What you described about the great fire 20 years ago was the conclusion of the Fourth Holy Grail War. However, unlike the last Holy Grail Wars before the Fourth, the cause of that great fire was unknown even to the Church or the Mages. No one knows exactly what happened nor how it actually happened. All we know is that it was related to the Holy Grail War."

"If 20 years ago was the Fourth, then would that mean the Fifth was 10 years ago?" I asked.

"Correct." said the priestess, "And while normally the Grail requires 60 years in order to amass enough mana to be able to summon Servants, making the planning period span over generations, such as the case of the period with the First War all the way up until the Fourth War, there is however, an exception to it. If the Grail is unable to utilize its energy, that which is leftover can reduce the time to as little as a decade, such as in the case of the period between the Fourth and Fifth Wars, and even the Grail War now."

"I see." I said, "Then, about the last one? Was there any conclusion to the last Holy Grail War?"

The priestess remained silent for a moment, before she answered, "No, there isn't one."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'm…afraid that I cannot answer that question." said the priestess, "For the simple reason, that even I myself don't know."

"Huh?!" I said, even more confused, "What do you mean by that?! I thought the Holy Church knows everything about the events of the Holy Grail Wars!"

"Unfortunately, that's not necessarily the case, regarding about the Fifth." said the priestess, "Despite one of our members overseeing the Fifth Holy Grail War, any and all records regarding about the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War was somehow and unknowingly lost and destroyed, and any evidences related to the Fifth Holy Grail War was already erased, leaving us no clue as to what had happened since the Fifth War."

"In other words, without any idea what happened since that day, you're lost." I said.

"That's right." said the priestess, "Well, in any case, that no longer matters now. What matters now, is what will happen next in today's Holy Grail War."

I looked at the priestess, as she walked to the table at the front center of the stage of the church, before she placed her hand on it and then looked at me with a serious expression on her face.

"Now, Yuzuru Shindou, knowing all that I have told you now, do you have any more questions?" the priestess asked, keeping her serious expression, "If not, then I will ask again, and THIS will be your last chance! Will you or will you not participate in the Holy Grail War?!"

I looked at the priestess for a moment, as she looked at me in the eyes with the eyes as serious as it can be, waiting for me to give out an answer on my decision. I then began to think about it for a moment, thinking of what I should do, and what my decision should be. As I did so, I began to think about what had happened today, about what happened this night, about what I've seen, about what came around me, about what Mirai-senpai and the priestess told me, about the mage world, about the Holy Grail War, and then…about the voices in my dreams. The voices…could they have been related to the Grail? Then, if that's the case, then there must be a reason why the Grail chose me, to be a Master, to be a part of this Holy Grail War, and whatever it is…I…I…I have to find out.

I looked at the priestess I gave out a determined look on my face, as I gave out my answer, an answer that I knew I can't take back and would change me and my life…for good, "I'll do it!"

"Oh?" the priestess looked at me curiously.

"I'll participate in this Holy Grail War!" I said, not letting my determination falter, "The Holy Grail chose me, a normal guy, for a reason, and I want to know what it is! And if fighting in the Holy Grail War will help me find that reason, then I'll do it! And besides, I…I have another reason to do this. I want to change who I am, to be better. And if being a Master helps me, then so be it."

The priestess looked at me in the eyes and warned, "Are you sure of your decision? Once you take this path, there will be no going back for you, and it may cost your life."

"I might end up dead, sooner or later," I said, "But I'll still do it, and I'll take that chance."

We stayed where we were as we looked at each other deep in our eyes, the priestess looking into my eyes to see that I was certain, while I looked at her eyes to show her that I was determined, regardless of what happens after.

After a moment of silent, the priestess stopped looking at me and nodded with a smile of satisfaction, before she said, "Very well, then. Yuzuru Shindou, the seventh and final Master of the Holy Grail War, I welcome you to the Sixth Holy Grail War, and I wish you luck and my blessing."

"Thank you." I bowed.

"Go now, and rejoice, my child." said the priestess, "For I will pray for all of your victory."

I nodded, before I turned to Mirai-senpai who nodded to me with a smile. I turned back to the priestess and bowed to her, before I turned away and began to leave the church with Mirai-senpai and the others, now fully ready for what comes next for me.

* * *

Caren's POV:

I watched as the boy, Mirai, and her friends leave the church, before shutting the door behind them, leaving me alone in complete silence in the quiet church hall. I remained in complete silence for a moment, before I spoke up and said without looking, "I'm sure you've heard everything by now. The final Master and Servant has arrived. So, what do you think of this turn of event, Master of Lancer?"

I hear a sighed on my right side, where in the shadows, stands a silhouette of a man, the Master of Lancer, sitting in his chair. Sitting next to him was a silhouette of a woman, his Servant, Lancer, with her spear in her hand.

"Oh, man." said the Master of Lancer, lazily, "To think that someone I know would actually end up being a Master, and with a Saber-Class Servant, no less. I'm quite surprised, to be honest. Although, then again, the Grail must've been desperate, so I guess picking a nobody like him must've been the Grail's choice."

"Either way, with Saber summoned into this war now, everything is all set." said Lancer, "And the Holy Grail War can finally begin."

"Yes." I said, "It begins. However, you two shouldn't reveal yourselves. At least, not yet. Instead, for the time being, I want you two to do something for me."

"Oh, yeah?" said the Master of Lancer, "And what would that be?"

"I'll need you to go and keep an eye on the Masters of the Grail War and see what you two can learn about them. While you do, I'll also need to learn about someone who's breaking the rules of the Holy Grail War."

"Let me guess, reconnaissance." said the Master of Lancer, "You want us to be the eyes and ears of the Holy Grail War, see what we can find out about what's going on, and make sure that the Holy Grail War runs as smoothly as possible."

"Correct." I said, "And no matter what, do not reveal yourselves, and do not engage any Masters or Servants."

He sighed and said, "Yeah, okay, whatever you say, boss. Whadaya think, Lancer?"

I heard Lancer chuckled a little before she said, "Very well, we will go with the plan. And if we learn anything, we will report to you."

After that, I hear them disappear and leave, leaving me alone. I then turned back to kneel and went back to praying to the Lord.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We were walking on our way to get back home. I was walking behind with Saber and Aimi walking beside me while Mirai-senpai and her two guards were walking ahead of me. As we continued walking, I looked at the Command Seals that was on my left hand. Well, I guess this is it.

We then stopped at two roads as Mirai-senpai said, "This is where we will part ways for now. You should be able to go back home on your way, no?"

"Uh…yeah…thanks." I said.

"Do not mention it." said Mirai-senpai, "I'm merely returning the favor for what you did after tonight. I suppose you could say that makes us even."

"Still, are you sure you girls will be fine on your own like that?" I asked, out of concerned, "I mean, it's still pretty late, and there's no telling what could happen in the middle of the night."

"You have no need for concern." said Mirai-senpai, "We may not look as such, but we do know how to fight and handle ourselves, and we have Assassin on our side should an enemy Master or Servant tries to attack us. And besides, Masters and Servants can only attack at nighttime and not at daytime, and it'll already be morning before anyone tries anything that's threatening."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"Also," said Mirai-senpai, "Since you're now part of the Holy Grail War, you and I will be fighting against each other in the near future, so I advise that you best prepare yourself."

"Right, okay." I said, "I'll do that, although I'd wish to at least resolve this without fight you."

"Why, because I'm a woman?" Mirai-senpai asked.

"W-Wha…uh…n-no!" I stammered, before I saw her giving me a look, and I admitted in defeat, "O-Okay, yeah…a little…"

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "I'm joking. Although, I can see why you would refuse to fight women, at least in most cases."

"Uh…yeah…" I said, as I scratched the back of my head.

"Still, you shouldn't let your guard down just because a Master is or can be a woman." said Mirai-senpai, "You should at least be able to fight back if worse comes to worse."

"Right." I said, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Mirai-senpai nodded, before she asked, "By the way, do you wish to know anything else before we part ways?"

I looked at Mirai-senpai and thought for a moment. Well, there is one thing I do wanna know, about Mirai-senpai. I then asked, "Just one more thing, do you…have anything besides Magecraft, like a…special super power or something that involves magic and all that?"

Mirai-senpai looked at me curiously for a moment, before she realized, "Ahh, I see what this is about. You still have some doubts about Magecraft and the mage world's existence, don't you?"

Hearing what she said what I was thinking, her friends, and even Saber was looking at me curiously.

"Well, I mean…yeah, a little…" I admitted, "It's just…uh…it's still kinda hard to believe that magic is still real and all, that it's still existing and nobody even knows it. I mean, don't get me wrong, magic is great and all, but…well, after today, I'm not entirely sure if I should believe that magic really IS real and not just some made-up tricks and all that."

"I see." said Saber, "So, in other words, you wish to see with your own eyes that everything hidden from the world is real and not a fantasy, to clear away your doubts."

"Yeah, something like that." I said to Saber, before I said to Mirai-senpai, "Sorry if I'm doubting you guys and all that."

"No, not at all." said Mirai-senpai, "You have the right to doubt whether Magecraft and the mage world is truly real or not. It's only natural for those outside of the mage world such as yourself to think as such. Therefore, I will tell you what I have to clear your doubts."

"Really?" I asked.

Mirai-senpai nodded and said, "Now firstly, I'm sure you are aware of the rumors about me in Homurahara Academy?"

"Rumors?" I thought, confused. But then, I realized what she meant and said, "O-Oh, yeah! Of course! About you being known to the school as "The Eyes of Fortune" as you've been known to giving fortunes about what would happen to people's lives much sooner or later or even any future events that may happen to them should they want to have it come true or if they want to be careful, and whatever fortunes that you makes, it all somehow comes true for everyone; some were good and some were bad, and the bad ones were the ones that many tried to avoid as much as possible. I heard that you know lots of stuff as if you've foreseen what might happen to people in any events sooner or later, and that you would send your members of the student council to either make it happen or to prevent it from happening."

"Correct." said Mirai-senpai, before she placed her hand next to her eye and answered, "Well, that's because it's the result of my magical eyes, or as it is called, The Mystic Eyes of Precognition and Retrocognition."

"The Mystic Eyes…of Precognition…and Retrocognition?" I asked.

"Correct." said Mirai-senpai, "And as you can see and guess, my Mystic Eyes allows me to see both the future and the past, whether it is a person or a certain event, anything that had happened or will happen. My eyes shine the color of bright blue whenever I foresee the future, and then it becomes the color of bright red whenever I foresee the past. It was…a gift, you could say, that I was born with for a very long time."

"I see." I said.

"So, then, do you wish to have your fortune told for what will happen tomorrow?" Mirai-senpai asked, "I used to do fortune telling when I was a child, so if you wish, then allow me to have your fortune told."

I thought about it for a moment. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have something told about what happens to me. Plus, I am curious about my future for what will happen tomorrow. And besides, I did say I wanna clear my doubts about the mage world and all so…

"Yes, please." I answered, "I'd like to know what happens tomorrow."

Mirai-senpai nodded and said, "Very well, then. Let's begin."

Mirai-senpai then closed her eyes to concentrate, before she slowly began to open them wide as her eyes began to glow is bright blue light, shocking me and amazing me.

"Whoa…!" I said, amazed, "This is…incredible…!"

"What you are seeing is Lady Mirai predicting your future, Shindou-sama." said Aimi, standing next to me, "As you can see, this is the power of her Mystic Eyes, the eyes that can see both the past and the future. Once she finishes predicting your future, what will happen next will depend on you."

"I see." I said. Judging from her friends' lack of surprise, I guess they must've seen her do that about dozens of time.

I turned back to Mirai-senpai as she closed her eyes, before opening them to reveal her eyes were normal again. I guess it looks like she was done seeing my future and is ready to tell my fortune.

"Now, then," she said to me, "Are you ready?"

I nodded to her, signaling that I was ready.

"Very well, then." Mirai-senpai nodded, before she took a deep breath, and began to say my fortune, "On the very beginning of the special morning day, a new arrival will come to appear to this very small island from a faraway land. This new arrival is one from the very distant memory in your heart, as this one arrival is very special. On that special day, you will receive a very special gift, one that you yourself would never come to expect. On the same following day, without you yourself knowing, you will be brought into a very unexpected incident by accident, one that involves the special arrival, where it will lead you to become the target of attention by many. Throughout the rest of the day, you will become the center of attention due to those followings." After that, she finished by saying, "That is all. The rest…will be all up to you."

I nodded to every fortune words that she said to me, before I nodded a final time and said, "Okay, thanks."

Mirai-senpai nodded and said with a smile, "Best of luck to you. You'll need it."

After saying her last words to me, she turned to her bodyguards who she nodded to, and they bowed to her, before she began to walk away with those two following her.

Aimi, being an elegant maid, stepped away from me and bowed to me, before she smiled and said, "Fare thee well, Shindou-sama. May Lady Luck favor you on your battles." She then bowed to me again before turning away and began to follow her mistress and her bodyguards, leaving me to watch them go.

I then turned to Saber and said, "So, uh…shall we head back?"

Saber simply nodded to me. We then began to walk on our way back home.

* * *

We returned to the apartment complex where my apartment room is. I then unlocked my apartment door and opened it.

I stepped back to let Saber in and said, "C'mon in."

Saber nodded and went inside, before I went in last and locked the door.

"Sorry about this place. It's uh…not exactly the greatest place to stay in, but, uh…at least it's a good place to live. I just clean out my room recently, so there's plenty of space around here for you to use. The others…well, not so much."

"I see." said Saber, as she removed her disguise, "If I may ask, are you the only one living here?"

"Yeah, I'm the only resident here." I said, "This place hasn't really been used for a long time since not many people live in this place anymore, because people say that it's more like a dump now. Basically, it's like a complete mess."

"Why not ask to clean it then?" Saber asked.

"I did." I said, scratching the back of my head, "But, unfortunately, nobody even works here anymore either, since the apartment manager is heavily sick and was sent to the hospital for that reason, and the only one left to watch over the complex until he fully recovers is his niece, Yukitsuki Hisakawa-san, and there was no one else in their family that would come over and help due to their work and stuff, not even her parents since they were away by sea. Basically, this apartment is stuck like this until he comes back."

"I see." said Saber.

"So, yeah, sorry about that." I said, "We're just gonna have to make do with what we have right now. Sorry."

"No need to apologize." said Saber, "As a Servant, I have no reason to mind this place. If such a place is suited to my Master, then it is most suited for me as well."

"I see." I said, "Well, that's good I guess." Then, a thought came to me and I said, "Oh, yeah. Speaking of, aren't Servants supposed to be spiritual beings of heroes or something? If Servants are technically spirits, they can change into spiritual forms whenever they want to, right? If Assassin and Berserker can do it, then shouldn't you be able to do it, too? I mean, not to offend you or anything, but technically, you are dead, so it shouldn't really be a problem, right?"

Saber was in complete silent for a moment, before she answered, "Yes, that is correct…or so I'd like to say."

"Hmm?" I said, confused.

"However, that is not exactly the case for me entirely." said Saber, "As you said, we are spiritual beings that are tied to our history as heroes or important figures, whether it is fictional, mythical, or historical. When heroes or important figures dies, or whatever anything important that ties to their legends gets left behind by them or anyone else related to them to this world, they are freed from the constraints of time itself and removed from the ring of reincarnation, and then are recorded into the Throne of Heroes, a place existing outside of both the World and the time axis. When summoned into the Holy Grail War, Heroic Spirits becomes what you know as Servants, however, while the Servants are spiritual beings, they are also copies of the "true bodies" of the Heroic Spirits. In other words, despite what Heroic Spirits the Servants take form of, they're not exactly real, just spirits that are based on the Heroic Spirits."

"I see." I said, "But then, shouldn't it be the same case for you?"

"Unfortunately, no." said Saber, "And yes, while it should be the same for me as any other Servants, it is not, however, the same case for me. You could say I'm…an exception to all of that. You see, in life, I made a pact with the World as I was on the verge of death that will require me to become a Counter Guardian, a sub-category of a Heroic Spirit at the service of the World, and I was given an offer to continue living in exchange to become a Heroic Spirit. In other words, while Heroic Spirits are those who have been removed from the time axis and placed onto the Throne of Heroes, I am still considered to be living. These pacts are normally done by those requiring the power beyond ordinary humans to become heroes during their lifetimes, but my wish instead came at the time of my death because I did not require support to become a hero."

"So, in other words, you are dead, but at the same time, you're not." I said.

"Yes, you could say that, in a way." said Saber, "Due to the fact that I could not obtain the Holy Grail during my lifetime, I could not stand not having it in my final moments when a wish appeared that I need to be granted. I could not complete the search for it, so I asked the World to allow me to obtain the Holy Grail while I still lived. I will not die until I obtain the Holy Grail, also meaning that the hero that I am of my time cannot die. I should be dead according to the timeline, but the contract cannot be fulfilled if that is true. Time is stopped for me at the moment of death, so you can say that I'm stopped in time rather than that time itself is stopped. The flow of time doesn't care that I've stopped, so it keeps flowing into the present without any issues. While I am not truly a Heroic Spirit, I can still be summoned as one because as long as I continue to seek the Holy Grail, it is evident that I will eventually become a complete Heroic Spirit. The result of obtaining the Holy Grail and fulfilling the contract are already determined, so I have an infinite amount of chances to claim it. This also allows me to be summoned into many ages even without being outside of time and before I become a Heroic Spirit due to the condition that me becoming one is already determined."

"Okay." I said, "So, in other words, as long as your part of the contract, or unless you obtain the Holy Grail, you'll be stuck like this the way you are forever."

"That is right." said Saber.

"But, what happens if you do obtain it, or fail to obtain it?" I asked, "What will happen to you as a Servant? Won't it affect you in any ways bad like your memories?"

"No, not entirely." said Saber, "Went Servants die, their memories become recorded and be brought into the Throne of Heroes along with the defeated Heroic Spirits. You could say that their memories would become records in books for a library of some sorts. And, even if the same Servants are summoned again, but into another different Holy Grail Wars, their memories of the previous Holy Grail Wars will not resurface along with them. Even if the previous Masters of those Servants recognizes them and remembers them, the Servants will not."

"I see." I said, "But, that's not the case for you, is it?"

Saber nodded and said, "While Heroic Spirits summoned as Servants are all copies of the "true body" stored in the Throne of Heroes, I, however have yet to reach that rank. I am instead called in the form of "myself about to die." This makes my current incarnation unique among Servants because I'm called from within the time axis rather than being copied from outside of the concept of time. I can jump forward or backward in time from the moment of my death and return to that moment upon obtaining or failing to obtain the Grail. Should I claim it, my time will flow again, and I will die just as history has recorded. Should I fail, all my memories are returned to my physical body, and I can either continue my search for the Grail or cancel the contract should I find a reason to. Because I have not actually died, I am classified as a living being despite being handled differently as a Servant. This also allows me to keep all memories of my search for the Grail unlike Heroic Spirits that don't allow for any inconsistencies in their memories. Servants would normally not have any memories if they happened to be summoned in two different Grail Wars, while I completely retain all of my memories. For example, my memories of all of the happenings of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

"Really?" I said, amazed, "That's… really surprising, to be honest! Also, I didn't know that you were a part of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Then, if that's the case, do you…maybe like know the conclusion of it, what happened at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

Saber sighed in disappointment before she shook her head and said, "Unfortunately, no. I was…I suppose you could say, already removed, by my last Master, from that Holy Grail War before I could even find out what happened at the end. I'm afraid the only last thing that I remember was that I was betrayed by him as he forced me to destroy the Grail via the Command Seals."

"Oh…" I said, "I'm…sorry to hear that."

"No, don't be." said Saber, with a small smile, "It is only natural for Masters to force their Servants to comply with their orders using their Command Seals, if and whenever deemed necessary. Of course, my previous Master during the Fourth Holy Grail War was no exception." She then frowned a little and said, "However, what he did…it truly was unforgivable. Whatever the reasons why he forced me to do so, even I do not know myself."

"Still," I said, "He really didn't have to do that. If there was a reason why he forced you, then shouldn't you have asked why before you could do what he says?"

"Unfortunately, it was not that simple." said Saber, "My previous Master was…complicated, you might say, and he and I never truly interacted with one another, as he only sees me as a tool rather than a person."

"So, then, you two don't really get along?" I asked.

Saber sighed and said sadly, "He and I would never get along as Master and Servant, even if we tried to."

"I see…" I said. I guess, it must be that hard for them. I guess her Master isn't the type who'd like to form a relationship with his own Servant.

"So," I said, trying to cheer her up, "Was there at least some good things you liked about him? Anything good at all? I mean, there's gotta be some good things about him, right?"

Saber looked at me curiously, before she thought about it for a moment. She then made a small smile and said, "Yes, actually, there was one thing I do like about him. I liked the fact that he loved and cared deeply about his family, both his wife and daughter, so much so that he would do anything to protect them both, always there to keep his wife loved and happy, and give his daughter a perfect future. In fact, his wife was the one who showed me that."

"Wow." I said, "Well, then he must've done some good to at least try to make the world a better place for them."

Saber nodded and said, "Yes, I suppose you could say that."

I nodded and said, "Well, at least that's good."

"Yes." said Saber, "At least, until the end…"

We remained silent for a moment to at least let it pass, before I said, breaking the silence, "Speaking of Masters, you wouldn't happen to have been a part of the Fifth Holy Grail War, would you? If you did, then do you know who your Master was in that Holy Grail War?"

"Hmmm…" said Saber, thinking for a moment, "…Yes, come to think of it, I have participated in the Fifth War. I believe it was…uh…huh?" Her expression became shocked for a moment, before she said, confused, "W-Wait…what?!"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh…Saber? Is something wrong?"

"It's…strange…" said Saber, "I…can't seem to remember…what happened during the Fifth Holy Grail War."

"Huh?!" I said, even more confused, "W-Wait, hold on, what do you mean? Shouldn't you be able to have all of the memories of the last Grail Wars like you said?"

"…Yes, normally, I would not have any problems in remembering the other Holy Grail Wars," said Saber, "However, this…seems to be different. My memories about the Fifth War…it seemed as though it was either removed from my memory as a whole or completely altered, or…perhaps even blocked away from my mind. It's as if…my memories have become a complete jumble, like a giant mess. All of my memories of the Fifth War…is all but completely hazy like a fog."

"No way…" I said, shocked, "So, then, does that mean you can't and won't be able to remember anything about the Fifth Holy Grail War?"

"Well, not entirely." said Saber, "I can at least remember a few things…but even that is completely hazy, and unless if it's still there, I cannot completely remember those few things. And beyond the rest, I'm afraid not."

"I see." I said. I then thought to myself, "I wonder if…it had something to do with me summoning you wrong, or me not being a mage at all."

"No." said Saber, as if reading my mind, "Rest assured that you not being a mage, nor your imperfect summoning has anything to do with it. Even if it did, I would've already seen and known about it."

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, "W-W-Wait, I didn't even say anything! Wait, did you…like read my mind or something?"

Saber chuckled a little and said, "Something like that, you could say. Masters and Servants are bound together by a pact, and because of this pact, whenever Masters are thinking of something, or whatever the Masters are feeling, Servants can feel and understand the Masters' thoughts and feelings. In other words, whatever you think or feel, I can feel them through our pact, whether you are a mage or not."

"Oh, I see." I said, amazed, "Oh, that's right! You mentioned our pact had been sealed! Which means…"

"Correct." said Saber, "You and I are bound together. With this pact, our fates are now intertwined together. You and I are connected through this pact of ours. So, if you die as a Master, then I will die as well without mana to feed."

"I see." I said, "Mana…that's right, your spirits, after all, so you need mana for energy supply, right?"

"That's right." said Saber, "Servants need mana to be able to maintain in this world, and Masters who're mages provides mana for Servants to feed from in order for Servants to maintain their physical form. Only mages of higher classes such as the Master of Assassin, the Tohsaka heiress, Mirai, can provide such mana, more so enough for Servants to even be able to last. However, if a Servant is summoned by a Master who is a non-mage, then that would cause trouble for said Servant, and the only way for Servants to gain more power is to feed on human souls, if and when it is necessary."

"Feed on human souls?" I said, "You mean, eat on human conscious for food to survive or something?"

"Yes." said Saber, "But only if it is necessary. However, rest assured, I would not come to such a horrific strategy should such a thing come to pass."

"Oh, okay." I said, a little relieved, "But…aren't I a non-mage? Wouldn't that cause difficulty for you?"

"Hmmm." Saber thought for a moment, before she said, "Yes, normally, that would be the case. However, it would seem that it is not the case for you."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Master," said Saber, "My mana feed from you appears to be very decent. You seem to have about just decent enough amount of mana for me to feed on, despite not being a mage. Not exactly great, but just about good enough for me to be able to fight against a Servant."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Really? I do?"

Saber nodded and said, "It is as Mirai said, you have potential. Perhaps even much so to even become a mage yourself. You may not realize it now, but I'm sure that in time, you will come to see it. And I have no doubt that when that day comes, you will become a powerful mage."

I looked at Saber for moment, taking my time to take it all in. I then laughed a little and said, "Yeah, sorry. It's…uh…gonna be a lot for me to believe that. And…I don't really think so. There's like no way I can be a mage." I then looked at Saber and asked, "I mean, are you…really sure you're okay with me? I mean, I don't really have anything special. I'm just a normal guy."

Saber saw the doubts that I had on my face, as she gave a reassuring smile and said, "Mage or no mage, I have already accepted you as my Master. As I've said to you before, my sword will be at your side. Your fate is now my fate, and our pact is completely sealed. So, I will follow you as your Servant wherever you go, because you are my Master, and I am yours to command in battle however you wish. With all my power, I will protect you, Master."

Wow! I was…awestruck by her speech…of her accepting me, a normal guy, being her Master. I guess…she's really fine with me. Well, then…if she accepts me to be her Master, then…I'll accept her as my Servant. Yeah, that's what I'll do. It's better that I return her acceptance.

I smiled and said, "Thanks, Saber. If you're really okay with me, then I'm okay, too. And…I'll accept you as my Servant. And besides, looking at you, really remind me of someone from my childhood."

"I see." said Saber, "Well then, I thank you for accepting me, Master."

"Oh, right, uh…you don't have to call me Master." I said, "I do have a name. My name is Yuzuru Shindou. But, uh…if you want, you can just call me Yuzuru."

"Oh, I see." Saber realized, "Very well, then." She then brought out her hand to shake and said, "I look forward to working alongside you, Yuzuru."

I smiled as I brought out my hand and shook hers and said, "Same here, let's work together, Saber."

We looked at each other and gave each other smiles. Well, this was gonna be the beginning. We stayed where we were for a moment, before we nodded to each other and let go.

I then sighed and said, "Well, I guess we'll end things here for now. For the time being, we should probably get you something to wear, something suited for a girl."

"Hmm?" said Saber, confused, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing wrong." I said, "It's just…we need to put you into something that'll work as a disguise, since you can't go into spiritual form, and if you stay the way you are wearing that, you're only going to draw attention to people."

"I see." said Saber, "Well, I suppose you do have a point."

"And besides," I added, "You do kinda look like a girl."

Saber glared at me a little and said, "I'd prefer it if you did not mock me that way, just because I'm a woman. I have no concern for my gender whatsoever."

"H-Huh?!" I said, "O-Oh, uh…s-sorry! It's just…you uh…"

Saber kept glaring at me for a moment, before she sighed and said, "No, I should apologize. I'm…not really used to being called a woman. I suppose you could say I spent most of my life living as a man."

"O-Oh, I see." I said, "Well, still, sorry about that."

"No, don't be." said Saber, "Though, you're right. I should wear something that is…more appropriate for this era. Do you have any clothing I could use?"

I took my time to think about it for a moment. Then, with a thought, I said, "Well, actually, there is one clothes you can use."

* * *

After some thorough searching through my closet, I managed to get Saber some modern clothing that she could wear outside in public. The clothes that I provided her was…well, a black suit. It was a suit that I would use to wear for parties for rich people or for charity concerts.

"Sorry, Saber." I said, apologetically, "This is all the clothes that I could give you to wear for the time being. It's probably uncomfortable for you since it's man's clothing."

"No, not at all, Yuzuru." Saber reassured, "I actually find this suit very comfortable for me to wear and I find it to be a better disguise than any. Besides, I'm used to being dressed as a man."

"Really?" I said, somewhat weirded out, "What kind of time period are you from that makes you wear man's clothing?"

Saber chuckled at my reaction and answered, "Let's just say a complicated one. You shouldn't worry about it, though."

"Oh…okay." I said.

"Shindou-kun?" I heard, "Are you home?"

"Oh!" I recognized the voice, "Yukitsuki-san! Uh, yeah, uh…I'm back! Just, uh…give me a minute!"

I then went through some of my stuff until I found a bandage, before I then wrapped my left hand that had the Command Seals on it to cover it. After I was through with the bandages, I then went to the bathroom to change my clothes. Before I began to change, I poked my head out and told Saber, "Saber, wait outside for me while I change. I need to introduce you to my friend for a minute."

Saber looked at me for a moment before she nodded and said, "As you wish, Master." She then went out the door to wait for me, and I went to change my clothes.

After I was done changing to my casual clothes, which was a simple black shirt and gray sweat pants, I stopped to take a look at my school uniform, which was covered in bloodstains and rips and tears from what had happened last night with Berserker. Thinking back, it was…really scary as hell. Just the thought of what could've happened had I not made it out just…gives me the cold shivers. Man, I really don't wanna think about that.

I sighed and said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna need a new uniform…"

I then picked up my torn of bloodstained uniform before I threw it away in trash. I really don't want anyone to see that, not even Yukitsuki-san. Knowing her, she'll be worried about me for dear life to no end. Yeah…I guess I should keep what happened this night a secret. I then went out of the bathroom and went out to the door where Saber was standing at waiting for me. I looked at her and she nodded, and we then went to go see Yukitsuki-san.

We found our way to her place, and before I could let myself in, I knocked on the door and said, "Hey, Yukitsuki-san, before I come in, I need to tell you we have a visitor!"

* * *

Me, Saber, and Yukitsuki-san were sitting at her table in her living room while we're having some tea. We were quiet for a moment before I said, "So, anyway, this is our new member of our residence in our apartment complex…at least just for a while. Oh, uh…before that, and just to avoid confusion because of the clothes, she's uh…actually a girl. Anyway, she moved here from another country to live here for some, uh…business. It's uh…a complicated one."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Shindou-kun, may I ask what her name is and where she's from?"

"Huh?" I said, before I realized and said nervously, "O-Oh! Uh…w-well, uh…I-I uh…"

Oh, crap! I really didn't think about that! Oh, dammit, what do I say?! What do I even call her?! Dammit, I can't just tell Yukitsuki-san her name is Saber! That'd be freakin' weird! What on earth should I call her?!

N-No, wait! Okay, calm down. Calm down. Just…calm down and think. Just think…calmly. Relax…okay. Now, then…

I mentally calmed myself down, before I took a look at Saber for a moment.

"Okay…" I thought, as I continued looking at her, "Now, judging by her appearance…I can only assume that she is…an English woman. Okay, good, an English woman. Aaaaand if she's an English woman, then…that would mean that…she's…from England. Okay, good. England it is. And if she's from England, then…she should be called…" I thought long and hard about what I should call Saber for a moment, probably for about a long quiet time…until finally, a name came to me, and I said, "Elaina. Her name is Elaina Scott Hemsworth, and she's from England."

"Oh?" said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, "Really? So, then she's a foreigner."

"Uh…yeah, that's right." I said, nervously, "And Elaina came here to…uh…do some business…as a…a-a-an exchange student!"

"R-Really?!" said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, "So then, she's here to study? To…be in…our school?"

"Uh…yeah, that's right!" I said, nervously, "Well, you see…uh…h-her family wanted her to travel to Japan, so that she could learn about some uh…o-of our foreign culture! Yeah, that's right! And, uh…she…wants to have a look around Japan and…learn about some stuff, s-so that she could uh…could uh…c-could help her…family…on her…f-f-family business! Yeah, that's right! Uh…something like that."

"Ohh, I see!" said Yukitsuki-san, amazed, "Wow, I really didn't know that!"

"Y-Yeah!" I said, nervously, "Well, uh…neither did I, at first. S-See…we uh…h-happened to have met by chance while I was walking on my way home! And she was the one who told me why she came here!"

"Wow!" said Yukitsuki-san, even more amazed, "I really didn't know you two met that way!" She then smiled and added, "If that's the case, then it must've been fate that you two ran into each other like that!"

"H-H-Huh?!" I said, confused, before I realized what she meant and said nervously, "O-O-Oh! U-U-Uh…y-yeah! Yeah! Uh…must be! Ehehe…yeah. Yeah."

I then laughed nervously before I became completely while awkwardly silent. I looked to see that Saber was completely calm and quiet, showing no reactions about my obvious lies at all whatsoever. Although, I think I could see in her eyes that she was just as surprised about what I said to Yukitsuki-san about her as she was.

I then looked to see Yukitsuki-san got up from sitting down and went to meet our new friend who is "Elaina". Yukitsuki-san then smiled as she spoke in English to her, [Hello, Mrs. Hemsworth. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Yukitsuki Hisakawa. I welcome you to our country.]

Saber was quiet for a moment, unsure if she should go along with it, as she looked at me, her expression asking me if she should go along with it. I smiled and nodded, signaling her to do so. Saber saw this and returned her smile and nod, before she got up from her seat to turn to Yukitsuki-san and said in English, [Yes, it is likewise very nice to meet you as well. I am Elaina Scott Hemsworth. I thank you for welcoming me. Oh, and um…please, call me Elaina.]

[Oh, yes, of course!] said Yukitsuki-san, in English, [So, Mrs. Elaina, is it true that you came to our country to study in Japan on behalf of your family back in England?]

[Ah, yes.] said Saber, in English, [It is just as I've told Yuzuru about my circumstances. I've come here as an exchange student to study many things about Japan on behalf of my family back in my home country. It is for a family business that I'm doing with my family at home.]

[Ah, I see.] said Yukitsuki-san, in English, [That is amazing! Your family must be very good.]

Saber smiled and said in English, [Yes, of course. It is…good business. And…well, I love to learn about your country's culture.]

[Then, Mrs. Elaina,] said Yukitsuki-san, in English, [Can you…um…by any chance, speak Japanese?]

Saber smiled at Yukitsuki-san, before she cleared her throat, and then said to her in Japanese, "Yes, I can speak Japanese very well."

Yukitsuki-san gasped, eyes wide in a happy surprise, before she said in Japanese, "Wow! That's awesome! You're amazing, Elaina-san."

"Ah, no, not at all." said Saber, somewhat sheepishly, "It's just…something that came natural after studying some languages back in my country. You could say it was…a thankful gift that I had given to me by my parents since birth. Otherwise, it would've been very troublesome."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, amazed, "Well, in any case, that's great! That would mean we'll be having two exchange students!"

Hmm? Wait, two? Hearing that caught my attention.

"Two?" I said, confused, "What do you mean "two exchange students"?"

"Hmm?" said Yukitsuki-san, "You didn't hear back in our class?"

"Uh…no." I said, even more confused, "Hear what?"

Then, as if she remembered, she laughed and said, "O-Oh, yeah! That's right! I completely forgot! You were asleep back in class, so you couldn't hear what Emilia-sensei announced!"

I grumbled at hearing her mentioning about what had happened that morning, before I asked, "What was the announcement?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Yukitsuki-san laughed, before she answered, "Anyway, Emilia-sensei announced that we'll be having an international exchange student from another country. He said she'll be coming over to Fuyuki and will be studying in our school, and in our class. Apparently, she's from somewhere in Europe, so she's a foreigner like Elaina, and she happens to be coming here tomorrow to introduce herself."

"A foreigner from another country…" I said, "And she's an international…" Wait a second. A foreigner…from another country…wait…it sounds like…

I looked at Saber who she gave me the same look of realization as I was.

Yukitsuki-san looked at us confused and asked, "Is something wrong?"

We both snapped out of it, and I said, "O-Oh, no, it's nothing. I just, uh…kinda remembered something, that's all."

"Oh, okay." said Yukitsuki-san. She then looked at my left hand and said worriedly, "Hey, um…what happened to your hand? Is it okay?"

"Oh, this?" I said, lifting my bandaged hand, "Yeah, it's okay. I just, uh…I accidently burned my hand while I was cooking for our new welcomed guest. Don't worry, though, it's nothing serious."

"Oh, I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, okay then, if you say so."

"Well, anyway, we gotta get some sleep." I said, as I got up, "We'll be going to school first thing in the morning."

"Right." said Yukitsuki-san, as she got up while holding the empty tea cups, "Well, then, goodnight."

"Oh, uh…Yukitsuki-san?" I said.

"Yeah?" said Yukitsuki-san, "What is it?"

"Uh…if you don't mind me asking, do you happen to have any spare school uniforms that I could wear?" I asked, "Sorry, I had mine accidently torn off while I stayed behind at school."

"Oh, really?" said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, "Uh…sure. I have extra pairs of uniforms for you along with mine, in case you need them. I had already asked the school for permission for them in case we lose ours. But, uh…why do you ask? And what happened to your old one?"

"Oh, just wondering." I said, "And, about my uniform…well, let's just say some accidents happened, and well…"

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, anyway, sure. I'll get you your new uniform first thing in the morning."

"Great." I smiled, "Thanks."

She nodded and returned her smile, before she then turned to Saber and asked, "Do you need some, too, Elaina-san?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine." said Saber, politely, "I'm fine with the clothes I'm wearing."

"Oh, okay." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, anyway, goodnight to both of you."

"Yeah." I nodded, as me and Saber began to leave, "Goodnight."

After we left Yukitsuki-san and went back to my room, I turned to Saber and asked, "Saber, do you think that…?"

"Yes, I believe so." said Saber, "It is just as Mirai had foretold to you. "On the very beginning of the special morning day, a new arrival will come to appear to this very small island from a faraway land." I believe that is what she said."

"Yeah…" I said.

"Master," said Saber, "After what Mirai had told you, what do you think you should make of this? And who do you believe this "new arrival" is?"

"Well, I don't know." I said, "But, whoever she is, I think this international exchange student must be important. And…about what Mirai-senpai told me, I think I should just go along with it until I figure out what all her words said to me means, and then…maybe I'll believe them. I'll believe that mages are real."

"I see." said Saber.

"Until then, we should rest for tomorrow." I said.

"Indeed." said Saber, "Perhaps rest will do us some good for now."

"Yeah." I said, "Goodnight, Saber."

Before I could go to bed, Saber stopped me by asking, "Ah, Yuzuru, can I ask you something?"

I turned to her and asked, "Yeah, what is it?"

"Why did you introduce me to Yukitsuki just out in the open like that?" Saber asked, "Those outside of the Holy Grail War should not learn about nor be involved into the Holy Grail War. Otherwise, if we did so, it would've brought them to their own doom. And though I'm relieved that you did not introduce me to Yukitsuki by my class name nor reveal me to her as a Servant, it doesn't change the fact that it would risk putting her in danger."

"Really?" I said, surprised, "You mean, just like what happened to me before I summoned you?"

Saber nodded at my answer.

"Oh, I…didn't know that." I said, before I answered, "Well, I just thought that it'd be a good idea to introduce you to people, and at least have them get to know you a little bit. I mean, even though what I said about you was a lie, I still think that you should at least interact with people. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of involving people into the mage world or the Holy Grail War, but I think that since you'll be around for a while, and since you can't go into spiritual form, I thought I'd might as well bring you out and have people learn about you. Not as a Servant, obviously, but as you, your own person."

"I see." Saber nodded, seeing my point.

"And besides," I added, "Even if I did try to hide you from everyone else, they'd probably find out and catch you from your hiding spot, eventually."

"Ahh." said Saber, "Yes, I suppose you have a point."

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, at least you were honest, and you were very careful with your words to Yukitsuki." said Saber, "Still, you must be very cautious of what you do or say. Otherwise, and even if they are not Masters, it would put them all in grave danger. As long as they're not involved with us in the Grail War, they're lives are safe."

I nodded and said, "Right. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Saber nodded and said, "Good."

I then began to yawn, before I said tiredly, "Well, then, I think I should get some sleep. You should, too, Saber."

"Of course." Saber nodded, I'll do that."

"Well," I said, as I began to head to bed, "Goodnight, Saber."

"Yes." said Saber, "Goodnight, Yuzuru."

* * *

Mirai's POV:

I was sitting on my couch having some tea that Aimi had served me. Everyone around me was quiet, even Assassin who was leaning against the wall. It seems that they're thinking about something.

I placed my tea cup down and said, "You each have something in mind, I take it. Go ahead, speak your minds."

They looked at me with surprised looks on their faces, before Aimi asked, "W-Whatever do you mean, milady?"

"Well," I said, "Ever since our friend Yuzuru had summoned Saber and we told him everything about the mage world and the Holy Grail War, all of you have been awfully quiet. You seem to have some thoughts regarding about the boy, yet you would not tell me of it. Perhaps, you are afraid of how I would react to your answers."

Hearing what I had said to them, they all began to look down, except for Assassin, as if they were all in shame to what they were about to say to me. I sighed and said, "If any of you have something on your minds, let it out. I'm listening."

Unfortunately, my long-time companions stayed quiet, as if refusing to speak up.

I then turned to my Servant and asked, "Assassin?"

Assassin sighed and said, "Very well." He got off from the wall and said, "That boy…he shouldn't be a part of this. And Saber should not have fallen into his hands."

My three companions winched, as if they were afraid that I would give out an angry reaction. I, however, gave out no reaction, as I remained calm and collective.

"I see." I said, calmly, before I turned to Aimi and asked, "Is that true, Aimi? You and the others think that way as well? Tell me."

Aimi nervously looked at Sayaka and Hiroko, who were just as nervous as she was, before she sighed and answered, "Yes, Ojou-sama, sadly."

"And your reasons?" I asked.

"Well," said Aimi, "It is because…well, Shindou-sama has absolutely no experience in fighting in death, nor does he have any skills or talents to use for survival. Also, he has absolutely no Magecraft that he could use to have an advantage. And, in my fair opinion, I believe that it would be best that he would remain in his normal daily life and be place in shelter to be safe."

"Is that so?" I asked.

"It is, milady." said Hiroko, "And that boy has no right to become a Master, let alone a Master of Saber, the most powerful class of all Servants. If he's not a talented nor a first-rate mage, then he's absolutely not worthy of Saber."

"That's right, Ojou-sama." said Sayaka, "Besides, he'd just get in a way of the fight and slow Saber, or even us, down."

"I see." I said, "So, those are your doubts. Well, I can't argue with any of you with that."

"Milady…" said Aimi.

"However," I said, "As I've said, he is necessary, for us and for Saber. Believe it or not, he actually has potential. Not just as a Master, but also has potential to become a mage, if he so desires to. Even he doesn't realize it yet, but he will eventually."

"Well, perhaps," said Hiroko, "But-"

"No buts." I said, cutting Hiroko off, and they became silent. I then took a sip of my tea before I suggested, "If you still have doubts about him being Saber's Master and being a mage, then how about…try testing him?"

"Hmm?" they all said, surprised, "Test?"

"Yes." I said with a smirk, "Test him to see if he's worthy of being a Master of Saber. Have him prove that he has what it takes to fight. Let him show you that he can face any challenges that awaits him. Test him to see if he is worthy, if he is worth becoming a mage."

"Make him prove…?" said Hiroko.

"To see if…" said Sayaka.

"He is worthy…?" said Aimi.

"Yes." I said, as I began to take another sip of my tea, "And, if he proves that he's more than worthy enough to be a part of this fight, then we will have him join us. We will be in an alliance to fight against the other Masters and Servants, and we will fight together and help train him to become a mage like us, until the Holy Grail War comes to an end." I then looked at my companions and asked, "Well, will you three test him?"

Sayaka, Hiroko, and Aimi looked at each other, thinking about what I had suggested to them, before looked back at me and Hiroko asked, "If…that is what you wish, milady."

"Consider it an order." I said.

They looked at each other again, before they nodded to each other, and they looked back at me and said as they bowed, "As you wish, Ojou-sama."

"We'll see that if he's worthy enough to be Saber's Master and be part of our group." said Sayaka.

"If testing him will prove his worth, so be it." said Hiroko.

"If fighting him will make him prove to us and put us at ease, then we shall do so on your orders." said Aimi.

I nodded and said, "Good."

Assassin then came over to me and asked, "And…if he doesn't?"

"If not," I said, "Then, you may do what you believe is the best option." I then took one final sip of tea until my cup was empty and said as my Mystic Eyes glowed blue, "Kill him."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	8. Chapter 2

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Morning came by as if it was now a bright new day. The morning sunlight shined through the window down onto my eyes, forcing me to wake up, which I groggily did. I then slowly when to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once I did, I began to wash my face. I used the water to splash it onto my face and wash it with my hands, before I felt something on my left hand. I opened my eyes to look at my left hand and saw that it had bandages. I began wonder why my arm was covered in bandages even though I don't feel any pain from it, before I began to unwrap it, revealing to me my answers. In the back of my left hand, there were three strange markings, and just by looking at them, I then began to remember what happened last night.

"Oh, that's right…" I said, tiredly, "I remember now…" I sighed and said tiredly, "Oh, man, this is really gonna be a lot for me to take in…"

I then heard knocking as someone called, "Yuzuru, are you in here?"

"Ah, that must be Saber…" I said to myself, before I said, "Yeah, it's me. What's up?"

"I came here to let you know that Yukitsuki had brought you some new uniforms for you to wear for school." said Saber, "And that she has also given me some new clothes for me to wear."

"Hmm?" I thought, confused, before I then remembered and said, "Oh, yeah, I remember requesting those." I then said to Saber, "Well, if you have my uniform ready, you can place it by the door. I'll pick it up soon."

"As you wish." said Saber.

I heard her making some few movements before I heard her walking away. I then looked at the mirror and said, "Well, I better get ready." I then went to the door and found my school uniform next to it, before I picked it up and closed the door to start changing.

After putting my uniform on, I wrapped my left hand with bandages again to cover my Command Seals. I then went to get my school bag and readied myself to head out. Before I began to head out, I heard Saber walking towards me, and I turned to see her, and to my surprise, she was wearing the female Homurahara school uniform. The uniform must've been one of Yukitsuki-san's spares.

I was confused by this before Saber reminded me, "You did say that I was going to be a student in your school."

"O-Oh, right." I said, as I remembered, "Right. I…almost completely forgot. Sorry."

"It's alright, Master." Saber reassured, "Besides, I do not believe this is the first time I've dressed as a woman before."

"Oh, really?" I said, surprised, "I thought you were used to dressing up as a man."

"I never mentioned all the time." Saber chuckled, "I did wear women's clothing at some point. Oh, but not in my past life, I believe it was in the Fifth Holy Grail War when…um…uh…wait, when was that…?"

"Still having trouble remembering?" I said, concerned.

Saber sighed and said, "I'm afraid so. Honestly, I find it very frustrating."

"I see." I said, before I reassured her, "Well, give it some time for it to come back to you. If any of your memories about that time comes back, just let me know."

"Ah, yes, of course." said Saber, "Thank you, Master."

"Again, you don't have to call me that." I said, as I scratched the back of my head, "Yuzuru is fine."

"Ah, forgive me." Saber realized, "It's a force of habit as a Servant."

"Nah, don't worry about it, it's cool." I smiled, "Anyway, we should go and get Yukitsuki-san."

"Of course." said Saber, "Oh, but…before that."

"Yeah?" I said.

Saber then brought out something, and in her hand was my favorite book that I always loved when I was a kid, as she said, "I…found this while I was changing my clothes. If I may ask, is this book yours?"

I looked at the book for a bit before I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, it's mine. Thanks."

Saber nodded and then handed the book back to me, which I gratefully took back and then went to put it back in my bedroom, before I went back to Saber as we went out of the apartment room and headed out to go and get Yukitsuki-san.

"Yuzuru, that book…" said Saber, "About it…"

"Hmm?" I said, "What about it?"

"Have you…always enjoyed reading that?" Saber asked.

"Well, yeah." I said, "I have for a long time. I've kept it since childhood. The King Arthur story has always been my favorite. I've always read that book and I never get tired of it. Plus, reading that book brings me back good memories from my childhood."

"I see." said Saber.

I looked at Saber, and she looked…sad about something?

"Is something wrong?" I asked, concerned.

Saber was quiet for a moment, before she shook her head and gave out a small smile as she said, "No, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said, "If you say so."

"And also," said Saber, "You should know that not everything in books about us heroes are necessarily true. Heroic Spirits such as us can be…far quite different than what's told in books."

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough." said Saber, "Anyway, we should get Yukitsuki and head to school. We can't be late."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, don't worry about that. We're never late."

"Oh?" said Saber, "How so?"

I sighed and said with a smile, "You'll find out soon enough."

"Hmm?" said Saber, even more confused.

"Well, c'mon." I said, "Let's get this over with."

* * *

As expected, we came by to Homurahara Academy way too early, thanks to Yukitsuki-san. We were tired from running to school so fast to get to class, we had to stop and catch our breaths. Well, us, except for Saber. I guess since she's a Servant, she doesn't get tired at all. Although, Saber seemed surprised how fast Yukitsuki-san was and how we made it so quickly.

"It would seem now I understand what you meant…" said Saber, somewhat speechless.

"Yeah…" I said, tiredly, "That's…what I mean…but, uh…on the bright side, we…got some time to…go to the teacher's and staff's room…to…register you as…a new exchange student…here…"

"Uh…yeah…" Yukitsuki-san laughed, tiredly, "At least…"

Then, our homeroom teacher, Emilia-sensei came by and saw us and said with a smile, "Ah, Hisakawa-san, Shindou-kun, good morning. You two are early as usual."

Me and Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Good morning, Emilia-sensei."

Emilia-sensei then noticed Saber and asked, "Oh? And…who's this? A new student?"

"Uh, yeah." I said, after catching enough of air, and I introduced Saber, "This is Elaina Scott Hemsworth. She's an exchange student from England."

"An exchange student?" said Emilia-sensei, confused, "On the same day as the international exchange student coming here?"

"It's uh…a long story." I said, "Can I explain it to you at the teacher's and staff's room?"

"Oh, of course." said Emilia-sensei, "We still have time before school starts, so come with me."

"Okay." I said, before I turned to Yukitsuki-san and said, "You go on and head to class first. Elaina and I will catch up later."

"Oh, okay." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, I gotta go, I'll you two in class!"

Then, Yukitsuki-san left until she was gone from our sight. I turned to Saber who nodded, and we went off to meet up with Emilia-sensei.

* * *

After explaining to Emilia-sensei about Saber's "situation", Emilia-sensei took his time to think about it for a moment.

"I see…" he said, taking it all in, "And Hemsworth-san had just moved recently to Japan from England to study."

"That's right." I said.

"I see." said Emilia-sensei, before looking at Saber and said, "Well, Hemsworth-san does seem like she's someone from another country, and she does seem like a student-type." It took him some time for him to look at her and think for a moment, before he nodded and said with a smile, "Well, alright. If you say she's a new exchange student, then I'll register her as one of the exchange students."

"Thank you, sensei." I bowed.

"Oh, not at all." He smiled, "Honestly, I'm still surprised that there would be a new exchange student other than the international exchange student. But, then again, there're lots of new people coming by to Fuyuki, just like you did three weeks ago."

"Yeah, that is true, sir." I said.

"Well, anyway, I'll let the other teachers and staff members know that." said Emilia-sensei, "Oh, and, if you don't mind, Shindou-kun, I hope you get along with the international student who will be coming here soon and help show her around the school. I'd ask Asada-san to do it, but it seems she'll be busy doing her other work as class representative."

"Sure, I'll do that." I said, before I thought about the international student, and I asked, "Speaking of, sensei, who's this international exchange student, and what country is this new exchange student from?"

"Well, honestly, even I don't know who she is myself." said Emilia-sensei, "But where she's from, I can at least tell you that she'd traveled all the way here from Germany."

"Germany…" I said. Wait, Germany…this new student is from Germany? Hold on, that sounds like…could it be…? No, it couldn't be…

"Yuzuru?" said Saber, snapping me back, "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, no, it's nothing. Just…thinking about something."

"Anyway, why do you ask?" Emilia-sensei asked.

"Oh, just wondering." I said, "Anyway, I'll be heading to class. And…I look forward to meeting this new exchange student."

"Oh, of course." Emilia-sensei smiled, "I'm sure everyone will be as well."

I nodded to sensei before I turned to Saber, who nodded at me, and we were ready to go our classroom, before Matou-sensei came and greeted me with a smile, "Ah, Shindou-kun, good morning."

"Ah, good morning, Matou-sensei." I bowed to her, before I stopped to introduce her to Saber, "Uh, Elaina, this Sakura Matou-sensei. She's our teacher for our next class." I then turned back to Matou-sensei and introduced Saber to her, "And, Matou-sensei, this Elaina Scott Hemsworth. She's our new exchange student along with the international one."

"Hello." Saber bowed, "It is nice to meet you. I'm Elaina Scott Hemsworth."

Matou-sensei looked at Saber before her expression became surprised and said, as if she was shocked to see Saber, "E-Eh…? W-Wait…y-you are…a-are you…?"

"Hmm?" we both said, confused.

"I'm…sorry?" said Saber.

"Uh…sensei?" I said, "Is…something wrong?"

Matou-sensei stood where she was and looked shocked for a moment, before her expression softened and said with a gentle smile, "No, it's nothing. Sorry, I just…I thought you were someone I knew."

"Is that so?" Saber asked, "Well, I apologize, but I'm afraid I've never met you before."

"Oh, no, that's not what I mean!" said Matou-sensei, waving it off, "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I didn't know we'd be having another exchange student other than the one we're having today. It's quite a surprise, really."

"Uh…yeah." I said, "Well, anyway, we gotta get to class. I'll see you in the next class."

"Ah, yes." Matou-sensei smiled, "Have a great day in class."

* * *

Our homeroom class already began as soon as the bell rang to start our first class. Before we could start lectures, Emilia-sensei first announced that we had two exchange students that would be in our class starting today, starting with Saber, also known as Elaina Scott Hemsworth.

"Now, Hemsworth-san, please introduce yourself." said Emilia-sensei.

After Saber had finished writing on board her name, she nodded to our homeroom teacher and said, "Yes, sir." She turned to face all of us in class and introduced herself, "Hello, everyone, my name is Elaina Scott Hemsworth. I'm an exchange student from England, and I live with Yuzuru Shindou and Yukitsuki Hisakawa at the apartment complex, and I moved to Japan for family reasons, and…I will be here for quite a while until I decide to return to my country. But, in any case, I do hope we can get along."

Everyone in class were looking at Saber in amazement to see her as a foreigner being in our class while whispering and saying, to themselves or to each other, either she was really pretty or very cool.

"Thank you for your introduction, Hemsworth-san." said Emilia-sensei, "Now, please take one of the empty seats over there."

"Yes, sir." said Saber, before she bowed to all of us in class and went to take a seat. She took an empty seat and desk that was in front of mine. She turned to face me and gave me a questioned look, asking how she did. I smiled and nodded to her, signaling her that she did well. This put Saber in relief as she sighed, and then returned the smile and nod, signaling to me thank you, before turning around to face the front.

"Now then," said Emilia-sensei, "Aside from Hemsworth-san, today we will be having an international exchange student in our class that has just arrived from Germany to our country, Japan, and has just arrived in campus. She will be staying with us for the rest of our school years together in Homurahara Academy, so I hope that everyone can get along with her." He then turned to the door and called out, "Alright, you can come on in."

As soon as he said that, the door was slowly and gently opening by the new exchange student outside. Okay, here she is. Let's see who it is.

The international exchange student, who had waited patiently outside, slowly walked into the class, giving us a good look of who she is and what the new student looked like. When she does come up to the front and turned to face everyone in class, giving us a perfect view of her, everyone went silent in complete shock, including me.

I gasped in shock as my eyes widened, seeing who she really is, and quietly said completely shocked, "N-N-No way…it…it can't be…could it…really be…?"

This girl…this new international exchange student…she was none other than…the girl from my childhood, Minna Eckstein Everhart.

Minna had long silver silky hair that shines in the morning light, with a red ribbon tied behind her hair, soft skin that was white as winter day, light blue eyes that shines beautifully in the night, stands about the same height as Saber, and has a body that is really well developed, to be nearly that of a goddess, since the last time I saw her. She was wearing a school uniform that consisted of a white blazer with black trimming, a black buttoned shirt with a red ribbon tied around her necktie, two more tied around both sides of her arms, a black and white striped skirt, white knee socks and shoes, and a white beret.

Judging by the way she dressed, it must've been her school uniform from Germany. I guess she must've really traveled a lot like that to get here.

Minna then drew her name on the board for everyone to see her name, before she turned back to everyone with a smile on her face, as everyone in class, including my friends and Saber, were looking at her in complete awe, as if they're seeing a goddess in front of them for the first time.

"Whoa…" said Kurosawa-san, awestruck.

"She's so pretty…" said Yukitsuki-san, amazed.

"Wow…" one student said.

"…a complete goddess…!" another student said.

"Oh, my god…" said another one.

"…I'm so jealous." said Asada-san, while…rubbing her own chest. I think I can see why.

Everyone else in class were speechless, completely awestruck from what they were seeing in front of them.

Then, Emilia-sensei cleared his throat and said, "Okay, everyone, settle down." He then turned to Minna and said, "Well, Everhart-san, go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Jawohl (Yes, sir)!" said Minna, in German, while smiling cheerfully. She turned to us and bowed before she introduced herself, "Hallo, everyone. My name is Minna Eckstein Everhart. You can call me Minna. I'm a new student that has traveled all the way from Germany and will be studying together with all of you in Japan. I've moved here to study and learn a lot about Japan and to meet lots of nice people here. I hope we can get along."

It's just like what Mirai-senpai said: "On the very beginning of the special morning day, a new arrival will come to appear to this very small island from a faraway land. This new arrival is one from the very distant memory in your heart, as this one arrival is very special." So, that's what she meant; Minna is the "new arrival' from Germany that came all the way to Japan. And…just like she said, she's someone from my past and she's very special to me. But…wait, hold on, Mirai-senpai also said that "On that special day, you will receive a very special gift, one that you yourself would never come to expect." A gift…from Minna to me? What did that mean? And what kind of gift?

Then, Minna noticed me and said happily, "Ah!"

"Hmm?" said Emilia-sensei, confused, "Everhart-san?"

Saber noticed this and moved her seat backwards to me and whispered, "I think she's looking at you, Yuzuru. Do you perhaps know her?"

Before I could even answer, Minna had already hurriedly made her way towards me and said happily, "Yuzu-kun! It's you! I've missed you so much!"

Before I could say anything, Minna came in and gave me a big hug, much to my surprise. As I felt her hugging me, I just…I couldn't help but hug her back. Of course, I missed her, too. As I hugged her, she felt…so warm and soft, and the smell of her was so good, so much so that it takes me back to Germany. I looked around us and saw that everyone, including Saber, had looks of surprises on their faces. I guess they must be shocked and confused as to what was going on right now.

"It's been so long, Yuzu-kun…" she said, happily, as she rested her head on my chest.

"Yeah, it sure has…" I said, as I was rubbing her long silver hair, "About 5 years…long time no see, Minna."

She looked at me and smiled as she said happily, "Ja, long time no see, Yuzu-kun!"

I then began to hear whispers from my classmates as they were looking at us showing how we were greeting each other, either in confusion or curiosity.

"Hey, what's going on?" "I have no idea." "Did that new girl just call him "Yuzu-kun"?" "I don't why, but that's so cute!" "Do they maybe know each other?" "I don't know, maybe?" "Man, I'm so jealous."

"Hey, Yuzu-kun." said Minna, "You've grown up so much."

"Uh…yeah, I have." I said, "And…so have you." In more ways than none, to be honest.

"Hey, Yuzu-kun." said Minna, "Do you remember the promise you made to me?"

"Promise?" I thought, before I remembered. Ah, that's right. the promise that I made to her 5 years ago. Of course, I haven't forgotten that.

Minna frowned a little and asked, "Did you…forget?"

I smiled at her and said, "Of course not. How could I ever forget that? You're the reason why I'll always remember that promise."

Minna, happy to hear what I said to her, smiled happily before she hugged me again and said, "I'm glad! I'm glad that you remembered!" She then looked at me again and said, "Yuzu-kun, I have something that I wanted to give you. I have it to be just for you." She then said in a whisper, "For the one that I truly love!"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "W-Wait, wha-?"

Before I knew it, I felt something soft touching my lips. This softness was pressed gently against my lips, and Minna's face was filling my peripheral vision. Wait, hold on, what? Is she…is she kissing me?!

Everyone around us in class were screaming in complete shock and surprise, including my friends who were watching us, while Saber looked at us completely stunned by what was happening, before everyone in class screamed, "WHAAAAAAAAA?!"

Everyone in class was in complete riot, but I just couldn't hear anything, nor did I do anything. My mind and feelings were completely focused on Minna and the feeling of her warmth of her lips passing onto mine that I couldn't even bother to think about our surroundings or our situation.

"Wait?!" I thought, "Is this…the "special gift" that Mirai-senpai was talking about?!"

Minna then let go of my lips before opening her eyes to look at me and said, "Now, we won't ever be separated from here on out, Yuzu-kun. And…just so you know, I just gave you my first kiss."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" everyone around us screamed again, completely in shock from what they heard from Minna. Hell, I'm just as shocked and surprised as everyone else was! Although, then again, it was my first kiss, too. So, I guess it wasn't that bad.

"Minna…" I said, "I…i-it was my first kiss, too…"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" everyone around us screamed again, much louder this time, completely in shock from what they heard this time from me. But, at this point, I didn't care about what was happening around us, as all my focuses were on Minna.

"Minna…" I said, quietly.

"Yes, Yuzu-kun…" Minna smiled, knowing what I was going to do.

This time, I was kissing Minna, and everyone around us were screaming in shock and surprised again, this time from what I was doing to Minna. Suddenly, someone opened the door real hard, so hard that the door had broken down to pieces and forcing me and Minna to stop kissing each other to see who it was, and, much to my shock and horror, it was our teacher for our fourth class, Ayako Mitsuzuri-sensei.

Mitsuzuri-sensei has short dark brown shoulder-length hair and light brown eyes and stands about 5"4' tall. Her choice of clothing is a business outfit, much similar to Matou-sensei, but with her black buttoned shirt that were completely buttoned up, and a dark drown blazer, a red ribbon around her neckwear, and a dark brown skirt that goes all the way to her knees, black leggings and wears high heel shoes.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH?!" I screamed, both in shock and in horror, "M-M-M-M-Mitsuzuri-sensei?!"

Just from the look on her angry and blushing face, I could tell that she saw what we were doing and is really, really angry. She then screamed out angrily, "YUZURU SHINDOU, WHAT IN THE FUCKING DAMN HELL ARE YOU EVEN DOINNNNNG?!"

Hearing her scream like that, I began to panic and screamed as I tried to reason but was failing. Oh, god, this is NOT gonna end well!

* * *

Later:

Oh, god, I'm SO beat…both figuratively and literally…

I was resting my head on my desk in the classroom, as I was really tired from what had happened today and from all of that storming beating, screaming, cursing, and lecturing that Mitsuzuri-sensei had given to me, so much so that I was so exhausted in complete tiredness and shaking in complete pain and fear at the same time that I couldn't even move my whole body. Not only that, I was surrounded by my friends and classmates who had bombarded me with so many questions, most of them that I couldn't answer at the same time, and it kept on going all the way until I wanted peace and quiet. Oh, man, I really brought this on myself…

"Ugh…" I groaned, both tiredly and in pain, "I'm…so…tired…so…hurt…"

"Are you feeling alright, Yuzuru?" Saber asked, concerned.

"Ugh…I'll be alright…" I groaned, "For the most part, at least…"

"Well, you can't blame everyone!" Kurosawa-san laughed, "You did kinda put on a show there, man! Plus, Mitsuzuri-sensei gave you a thorough beating! I mean, hell, she was even kicking you in the balls up to five times! Man, that was hilarious!"

"Hey, c'mon, give him a break!" Yukitsuki-san defended me, "He's been through a lot! At least let him take his time to catch his breath, and at least show some sympathy for him!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kurosawa-san waved it off, "But seriously, what was that all about? Why'd you two do that for?"

I sighed and said tiredly, "I don't know, it just…came over me…I wasn't really thinking…plus, the kiss didn't felt bad, so…"

"So, do you two know each other?" Asada-san asked, "Are you two like childhood friends?"

"Well, yeah…" I said, as I was recovered a little, enough to lift myself up from my desk, "We've known each other when I was in Germany for a couple of years…"

"Ah, I see." said Asada-san, "Still, though, I didn't really think she'd do something so bold and so intimate like that, much less with you, AND in front of everyone in class."

"Yeah…" I said, "Neither did I…"

"Yeah, I think she's WAY too intimate with you to be your childhood friend!" Kurosawa-san laughed, "I mean, no childhood friend would ever kiss another childhood friend like you unless she has feelings for you!"

Asada-san chuckled and said, "Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, who knows, maybe she DOES have feelings for you, and that's why she kissed you."

"Huh?" I said, looking up, "You…really think so…?"

"I mean, why wouldn't she?" Asada-san smiled, "Besides, you know Minna better than anyone else here. Plus, she DID say you were the one she truly loves."

"Huh…" I said, thinking about it, "Yeah…I guess, maybe…"

"AND, "Yuzu-kun"." Asada-san teased, "I think what she called you is SO cute~!"

"Oh, shut up…" I groaned, "I let Minna call me that because she likes it, and I don't mind her calling me that…"

"What, are we not allowed to?" Asada-san teased.

"Not even in the slightest…" I said, monotonically, and with a deadpanned expression.

Then, I saw Minna coming towards me and asked, "Hi, Yuzu-kun, is this maybe a good time?"

"Oh, hey, Minna." I smiled at her, "Yeah, it's good. What is it?"

"Well," said Minna, "If you're not too busy, I was wondering if you can give me a tour around the campus."

"Oh, sure, I don't mind." I said, as I got up from my seat, "I was told to do that for you, anyway." I then turned to Saber and asked, "Hey, Elaina, do you wanna come along, too?"

Saber got up and said, "Of course. I too would like to have a tour around the school."

"Hmm?" Minna looked at Saber and said, "Oh, hallo, umm…"

"Elaina." Saber introduced, "Elaina Scott Hemsworth, also an exchange student from England. It's nice to meet you, Minna."

"Oh, nice to meet you, too!" Minna smiled, "Wow, I never thought I'd meet a fellow exchange student."

Saber chuckled and said, "Well, neither have I, to be quite honest."

I smiled at the both of them, interacting with each other for a bit, before I turned to everyone and said, "Well, I gotta go, I'll see you guys later."

"Yeah, later, man." said Kurosawa-san.

"Bye." Asada-san waved.

"Yeah…" Yukitsuki-san smiled, "…Have fun."

I turned to Minna and Saber and asked, "So, shall we?"

"We shall!" Minna smiled.

"Of course." Saber nodded.

And then, we went off to give them a tour around school.

* * *

Yukitsuki's POV:

As soon as they left the classroom, I frowned, feeling sad for what had happened today, and from what I just saw with my own eyes.

Asada-san looked at me and asked out of concern, "Is something wrong, Hisakawa-san?"

"Hey…" said Ryouya, concerned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" I lied, "It's nothing…nothing at all…"

"Oh, okay." said Ryouya, "If you say so."

I sighed and thought to myself, "…I really don't like that girl."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was giving Minna and Saber a tour as I showed around the campus as we walked around the school and talking, from other classrooms, to the library, to the club rooms, outside around the campus, all the way up until I finished filling them in on what I've showed them.

"And that's about the gist of Homurahara Academy." I concluded, "Any questions?"

"No, I think I got it." Minna smiled.

"I have everything cleared out." said Saber.

"Okay, great." I said.

"Oh, hey, Yuzu-kun?" said Minna.

"Yeah?" I said, "What is it?"

Minna smiled as she jumped up and hugged my arms, saying while smiling, "Gotcha!" She held onto my arms as she giggled, "Teehee~!"

"H-hey, Minna." I laughed a little, "C'mon, this is a little embarrassing."

"Aw, come on, please?" Minna pleaded, with her cutest expression, an expression that I knew I could never say no to.

I sighed and said with a smile, "Alright. Just for today though."

"Yay!" Minna cheered, hugging me tighter, "Thank you! You're just as nice as I remembered, Yuzu-kun!"

Saber gave out a small smile and said, "You two sure are very close and intimate, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah." I said, "She's always been that way since we were little."

Saber chuckled and said with a small smile, "Well, I'm almost envious of you two."

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "Was…that a joke?"

"Who knows?" said Saber, "Perhaps, perhaps not."

Then, there was an announcement song and a loudspeaker announced, "This is an announcement to Minna Eckstein Everhart. Minna Eckstein Everhart, please report to the nurse's office. Again, this is an announcement to Minna Eckstein Everhart. Minna Eckstein Everhart, please report to the nurse's office. Thank you."

"Must've been the school nurse." I said.

"Nurse's office?" said Minna.

"Hey, Minna, do you remember where the nurse's office is?" I asked, to confirm.

"Ja, of course." Minna smiled, before pointing at her head, signifying that she has it in her head, "Well, I'm going to the nurse's office then!"

"Okay." I said, "Just be careful on your way."

"Oh, before I go…" said Minna, before she came up to me, and then lightly pecks my cheeks with her lips, making me blushed at what she did. She then stepped away and said happily with a smile, "I'll see you later, Yuzu-kun!" She then turned to Saber and bowed before she said, "I'll see you later as well, Mrs. Elaina."

"Ah, yes, of course." Saber bowed back.

Minna then left to go to the nurse's office, leaving me and Saber.

"Well," said Saber, "She was rather…interesting, to say the least."

"Yeah." I said, "Still, though, I don't remember her being this intimate with me before."

"Perhaps it may be the cultural differences." said Saber, "Or, perhaps maybe what Chikako said about her is true."

"I don't know, maybe…" I said, "Well, I think I'll figure it out, either way. Answers will come up eventually."

"I suppose." said Saber.

Then, there was an announcement song and a loudspeaker announced, "This is an announcement to Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth. Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the principal's office immediately. Again, Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the principal's office immediately. Thank you."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, now they're summoning me? And to the principal's office?"

"Perhaps it may have something to do with what you did with Minna." said Saber, "Though, I honestly don't know why they'd call me."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, probably. But why the principal's office? I really don't like where this is going…"

"Neither do I." said Saber, "But we'll have to see what it is to confirm. Besides, it's not like any of us will get out of it easily."

I sighed form Saber saying that. Though I hate to admit it, she was right. It's not like I was gonna get outta this alive. "Let's just get it over with…" I groaned.

Saber patted me on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Master. I do not believe it is that bad. Probably."

* * *

"Well, then, that will be all." said Mr. Ryuudou, "Now, I do hope that you'll take better care of not causing such events again."

"I'll try not to, sir." I said.

"Good." Mr. Ryuudou nodded, "And…Hemsworth-san, was it? I do hope that you get to enjoy your stay here in Japan and learn so much about our country."

"Thank you, sir." Saber bowed, "I do hope so as well."

"Alright, you two are dismissed." Mr. Ryuudou dismissed us.

"Thank you, Principal Ryuudou." We bowed to him, before we began to leave.

"Ah, wait, before you go, I'd like to ask you something, Hemsworth-san." said Mr. Ryuudou.

"Yes, sir?" said Saber.

"If you don't mind me asking," said Mr. Ryuudou, "Have I…met you somewhere before?"

"Hmm?" said Saber, confused, before she answered, "No, I'm afraid we have not. Why?"

"Ah, my apologies." said Mr. Ryuudou, "It's just that…you look…strangely familiar, like I've seen your face somewhere before."

"Well, I'm sorry." said Saber, "But, I'm afraid I do not recall meeting you before."

"Ah, I see…" said Mr. Ryuudou, thinking about it for a moment, before he smiled and said, "Ah, never mind, it must be my imagination. Anyway, you can go now. Oh, and before I forget, Shindou."

"Yes, sir?" I said.

"In case if the new exchange students didn't know," said Mr. Ryuudou, "Please tell them that the school will be having substitute teachers while me and some staff members will be gone for tomorrow."

"Okay, I will." I nodded.

"Thank you." Mr. Ryuudou nodded, "You're dismissed."

We nodded to our principal and left his office. Once we got out, I sighed in relief and said, "Well, it wasn't so bad…I almost forgot that Minna comes from an acclaimed family in Germany. Still, though, I wasn't expecting Principal Ryuudou to personally ask me to look after her."

"Indeed." said Saber, "You and me, both. Still, I wonder how powerful her family is?"

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say as powerful as mine." I said.

"Hmm?" said Saber, curiously, "How so?"

I realized what I just said and said, "O-O-Oh, no! I-It's nothing, it's nothing! Don't worry about it."

"Oh, I see." said Saber, "Very well."

"Well, in any case, I'm tired." I said, stretching my arms, "I think I need a break and go to the nurse's office. And…while I'm at it, I might as well check up on Minna."

"Agreed." said Saber, "Who knows what she's doing right now."

"Yeah, and I think after yesterday and today, I think I got a moment of peace." I said, "All the craziness I had seen last night, meeting you on the same night, learning about the "golden cup" thing, and my reunion with Minna. It's one thing after another…"

"Indeed." said Saber, before something hit her and said, "Wait, hold on. Master, aren't we forgetting about something that Mirai said to you?"

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I thought about it and said, "Huh…come to think of it, I feel like I forgot about something. Let me think…uh…what was it? There was one more thing…what was that one more thing? On the very beginning of the special morning day, a new arrival will come to appear to this very small island from a faraway land. This new arrival is one from the very distant memory in your heart, as this one arrival is very special. On that special day, you will receive a very special gift, one that you yourself would never come to expect. And on the same following day…umm…uh…wait, what will happen? That's weird…" I continued to think for a moment, before I gave up and said, "Ugh…nope, nothings ringing any bells."

"Perhaps you are tired and that's giving you a hard time to think about it." said Saber.

I sighed and said, "Yeah, maybe…well, whatever, I think I'll let nature take its course. Better than nothing, I guess…"

I then walked myself with Saber all the way to the nurse's office without even opening my tired eyes.

"Saber, go on and head back to class…" I said, tiredly, "I'll meet up with you later as soon as I get Minna…"

"If you insist." Saber bowed, "Oh, and before I forget, I should let you know that if anything happens such as a Master or Servant attacking you, you should call upon me via the Command Seals. That way, I should be able to teleport to you to your aid without having to suffer any single problem."

"So, call you in case of an emergency…" I said, with a tired smile, "Got it, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." said Saber, before leaving to class, "I'll see you back in class."

I watched Saber leave until she was gone from my sight, before I sighed and said tiredly, "Well, better get some rest, and then get Minna back to class."

I walked on the hallway tiredly until I found myself at the front door of the infirmary. Without even looking in front of me, I knocked on the nurse's office's door before opening it and said tiredly, "Excuse me…"

"EEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" I heard someone shrieking.

Huh? Wait, shrieking?

"WHAT'RE YOU DOINNNNNG?!" I heard someone else screaming.

"H-Huh?!" I looked up, confused, only to realized that what I was looking right in front of me…brought me into complete shock.

In the nurse's office, there were girls that were…were…oh, my god…OH, MY GOD…they were ALMOST COMPLETELY NAKED! Every girl inside the office were either in their underwear or in dress shirts, while also holding tape measurements! All of them had looks of complete shock in their eyes to see that I walked in there. Wait, if all of them are almost completely naked, that would mean…that…that…! I looked around to see that, just like everyone else, Minna was almost completely naked, only wearing a dress shirt for cover! But, unlike the other girls who had looks of surprise, embarrassment, and disgust, Minna was actually smiling at me for me seeing her almost in nude!

W-Wait…wait a second…could this be…what I completely forgot about?! "On the same following day, without me even knowing, I would be brought into a very unexpected incident by accident, one that involves the special arrival, where it will lead me to become the target of attention by many"?! Shit! So much has happened, I completely forgot about that!

Then, the girls inside began screaming and panicking, while also trying to either cover themselves up or find something to grab to throw things at me, as they all screamed out, "PERVERT!" "YOU PERV!" "PEEPING TOM!" "DON'T LOOK!" "YOU PERVERT!"

Hearing them screamed made me panic as I tried to say, "WHAAAAAH! N-N-NO, WAIT! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

Then, the girls inside began throwing things at me while they screamed out in fear, embarrassment, or anger, "GET OUT, YOU PERVERT!" "PERVERT!" "PEEPING TOM!" "GET OUT!" "GET OUTTA HERE!" "YOU DISGUSTING BOY!" "YOU PERV!" "THERE'S A PERVERT!" "PERVERT!"

"NO, WAIT, STOP!" I panicked, while covering myself from all the things they were throwing at me and trying to reason, "LISTEN, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

Suddenly, I felt someone behind me, and I felt something like there was a deadly aura. I yelped as I realized whose killer aura is from, and I turned around to see, to my complete shock and fear, was Mitsuzuri-sensei, who was giving out a dark and deadly aura while her eyes were covered in shadows, hinting that she was…REALLY ANGRY!

"Yu…zu…ru…Shin…dou…!" she said, angrily, making me yelp and panic, before she screamed out angrily, "AGAIN, WHAT IN THE FUCKING DAMN HELL ARE YOU EVEN DOINNNNNG?!"

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" I screamed and panicked, as I tried to say to reason while panicking, "NONONONONONO, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! T-THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! PLEASE, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINNNNNKKK!"

Then, out of sheer anger, Mitsuzuri-sensei screamed out, "KILL HIIIIIM!"

Then, all at once, every one of the girls in the nurse's office came at me with random weapons to attack me as I screamed out loud, so loud enough for the whole school to hear, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

I was in the counseling room where Matou-sensei was, as I was looking completely, and comically, beaten up and covered in lots of random bandages, bruises, and comical blood around my whole body, looking very distained, while Matou-sensei was bursting and laughing out really loud as, apparently, she saw and heard the whole thing of what happened at the nurse's office while she was passing by.

"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE!" she laughed out loud, "IT WAS SOOO PRICELESS! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, c'mon!" I shouted, "It's not even funny! Do you have any idea how many girls were screaming at me and attacking me?! I was EVEN kicked in the balls! Three time! By each and every girl! INCLUDING MITSUZURI-SENSEI!"

Matou-sensei continued on laughing out loud while saying, "I'M SORRY! I'm sorry! But, it…it was totally funny! Oh, I just can't stop laughing about it! Ahahahahahaha!"

I groaned and said, "Seriously, it's NOT funny!"

Matou-sensei continued on laughing as she said while calming herself down, "I'm sorry! Ah, I'm…I'm really sorry! But, it just…it really was! It was totally funny! How you just walked in there without even knowing that there were girls in there, taking their physical health exam!"

I sighed exasperatedly and said, "It was an accident! I needed to get some nap in the nurse's office before taking Minna back to class! I didn't know that they were having physical examination!"

"I know, I know, I know." Matou-sensei chuckled, "And I know you didn't mean it. I even told Mitsuzuri-sensei myself that it was just an accident and that you had no idea they were in there. Plus, judging by the new girl's expression on her face, she didn't seem to mind you looking at her. If anything, she likes you seeing her more than the other girls do."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess. It still doesn't help that everyone's gonna get the wrong idea about me now, though."

"Oh, nonsense, everyone's not gonna hate you for what you did today." Matou-sensei smiled, "Plus, ever since the new girl's arrival and that make-out session that you had with her back in the classroom, I think you've become quite popular now!"

I sighed and mumbled, "Nah, more like I'm a target of hate and envy than a popular guy."

"And besides," said Matou-sensei, "I think that you two make a very good couple! You're both so cute together! I didn't know that you were into silver haired girls!"

"Oh, c'mon, sensei, we're not a couple." I said, "And she's not my girlfriend. We're just…childhood friends. We used to live together when my family and I were in Germany for a couple years."

"Oh, really?" said Matou-sensei, surprised, "Then why does she seemed intimate to you?"

I sighed and said, "She's just been that way since we were kids, though I honestly don't remember her being that intimate with me before."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, before she smiled and said, "Well, I'm sure it must've been because of the change in years. People can change over times."

"Ah, yeah, I guess." I said, before I looked at Matou-sensei and I froze from what I was seeing, as I then began to stammer, "U-U-Uh…M-Matou-sensei?"

She was now giving me a look of seduction to me as she then moved slowly towards me said seductively, while also revealing part of her chest, " _Speaking of change~ Tell me, Shindou-kun~ Between me and that new girl, whose body do you think is better~? Hers, or mine~? Hmm~?_ "

"H-H-Huh?!" I stammered, while trying to look away, "U-U-U-U-Uh…Well, um…u-u-uh…I-I…I-I-I can't…really answer that question…really, I-I uh-"

"Shhhhh…" she shushed me as she placed her finger on my lips. She then went even closer to my face and smiled as she whispered seductively to me, " _Don't worry, Shindou-kun. You don't have to say a word~ I think you should let your body…answer. All. Of. My._ _Question~_ "

"B-B-B-But…W-Wait, M-M-Matou-sensei..." I stammered, "W-W-We really shouldn't do this! I-I-I mean, what if people-"

" _Don't worry, Shindou-kun~_ " said Matou-sensei, seductively, " _I placed a sign outside that says we're on counseling session and to not disturb us, so no one's going to come in and bother us~ And, no one will hear what we're doing inside~ So, It's just…you. And. Me. Now. Shin~dou~kun~_ "

"N-N-N-NO!" I said, nervously, trying to back away, "W-W-W-We can't do this! E-Even if what you said is true, i-i-it's still wrong!"

" _C'mon, Shindou-kun~_ " she said, seductively, while slowly reaching to her buttoned shirt, " _You know you really want to~ C'mon, tell me, who's body do you think is much better~? Who's chest is much bigger~? Hers, or mine~? C'mon, tell me the truth~ If you do…_ " She leaned in closer towards my ears and whispered seductively, " _I'll give you something a lot more than just a kiss~_ " I blushed real hard from hearing her say that, and my heart rate was rising and beating so fast as she was already so close to me. Matou-sensei slowly whispered seductively into my ears, further breaking my resistance so much I couldn't take it anymore, " _Now~ C'mon~ Tell. Me~_ "

Oh, god, I can't take it anymore!

"M-M-M-MINNA!" I screamed out loud, as my eyes were shut closed, "MINNA'S BODY WAS MUCH BETTER! SHE HAD A PERFECT BEAUTIFUL BODY THAT MATCHED THAT OF A GODDESS! AND HER BOOBS WERE MUCH BIGGER, ABOUT A CUP OR TWO BIGGER THAN YOURS! I KNOW BECAUSE I ACCIDENTLY SAW HER MEDICAL FILES WHILE I WAS GETTING BEATEN UP!"

Everything fell silent after I said that…oh, my god! I can't believe I said that! Then, I heard some giggling, before a laugher burst out, making me open my eyes only to see that Matou-sensei was laughing out again. Oh, god, she did it again! Only this time, she made me confessed by teasing me!

"I can't believe you actually said that!" Matou-sensei laughed, "It was so PRICELESS! Ahahahahahaha!"

I was speechless from what she did, until I screamed out, "GODDAMMIT, MATOU-SENSEI! COULD YOU PLEASE STOP DOING THAT?! IT WAS NOT FUNNY!"

Matou-sensei continued on laughing until it was dying out again as she said while calming herself down, "I'm sorry! Ah, I'm…I'm really sorry! But, it just…it really was! It was totally funny! I just…I can't believe you would actually say that about your own girl who's actually your own childhood sweetheart!"

I sighed and said, "She's not my sweetheart, let alone my girl. If she was, she wouldn't be happy about what you were doing to me just now. I mean, seriously, what if Minna finds out about this and gets the wrong idea about us?!"

Matou-sensei chuckled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry. She won't find out about this, as long as it is our little secret and not say anything and just say that it is only counseling session, she won't get suspicious, let alone find out about us. And even if she did, I'll tell her I'm only messing with you for…stress relief. Besides, like I said before, I would never put you on such a terrible position as a student and ruin your reputation as one. If I did, it would put me in trouble, too."

I sighed and said, "Somehow, I don't feel relieved at all."

"Besides," Matou-sensei added, getting my attention, "I think this Minna girl is in love with you very, very much. So much so that she'd willingly give herself to you and you only."

"Really?" I said, surprised, "You think so?"

"Of course." Matou-sensei smiled, "I mean, no other girl from your life would ever do something so bold and so intimate such as kissing you in front of people. If she did that, then that would mean she has feelings of love for you."

"Y-You think so?" I asked.

"Of course, I believe so." Matou-sensei smiled, "And it's not just me, everyone else can see it. But, the problem is you."

"Huh?" I said, "Really? I'm…the problem?"

"Very much so." Matou-sensei chuckled, "Don't get me wrong, you're not stupid or anything, it's just that you're a little dense and a little slow to even see that."

"I'm…dense and slow?" I said, confused.

"Just a little bit." said Matou-sensei, "Just about to why you can't see why she would be so intimate with you or what you feel about her."

"Huh…" I said, thinking about it, before I sighed and said in defeat, "Yeah, I think you're right…I guess I can't see why she would. And honestly, I don't know how I should feel about her. I mean, she's important to me, but…I don't know…"

"You know, a friend of mine had the same problems as you did." said Matou-sensei, "He had a connection with someone close to him, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her, at least not at first. But, as time passed, and as he got closer to her, he began to develop feelings for her, and it kept on growing until eventually, he confessed his feelings to her, and, in some of the craziest ways, their love blossomed, and they eventually became a couple. I, of course, gave them my blessing and my support for them."

"I see." I said.

"What I'm saying is, is that if you're unsure of how you feel right now, then you should at least take some time to think and follow what your heart tells you to do." Matou-sensei advised, "That way, you'll be able to think and understand how you really feel about the person who you're closest to. Take that feeling to heart and let it grow as time passes as you stay close to her, and when the day arrives, and you feel that you truly love that person, then you should tell her your true feelings, and if those feelings reach to her and she feels the same, those feelings may eventually blossom."

"I see…" I said, "Follow…my heart…"

"Yes." she nodded, "Follow what your heart tells you, and I'm sure your true feelings will be revealed in time. Who knows, perhaps maybe you may love her the same way she does, too. You just don't realize it yet."

"Hmm…yeah, you might be right…" I said, thinking about it for a moment, before I said to her, "Thank you, Matou-sensei. I guess I really needed some guidance after all."

"No, not at all." Matou-sensei smiled, "I am a teacher, and it's my job to give students some guidance when they need it, after all. I'm here when you need it most. And besides, it's so nice to see such young love at this time of age. I almost envy the youth. In fact, if I was 10 years younger, I may would've fallen in love with you, Shindou-kun."

"Now you're just messing around." I chuckled, before I asked, "If you're so into love, then why not get a boyfriend or something?"

She sighed and said, "I could, but there aren't exactly any good gentlemen around Fuyuki these days. Plus, work keeps me so busy that I don't even have time to find any." She then smiled and added with a joke, "And besides, I'm too old to go out on dates."

"You're not THAT old, sensei!" I laughed.

She chuckled and said, "But, it's true. There aren't any good men that fits my interest. And besides, I…I had already given up on love a long time ago."

"Ah, yeah." I said, as I knew what she meant, "I guess you have a point."

"Well, anyway, how about we head to class?" said Matou-sensei, "My class will be starting soon, so we might as well head back together, yes?"

"Yeah." I said, "Let's."

As we got up and went to the door to leave, as soon as we opened the door, I saw that Minna, much to my surprise, that she was standing there waiting for me with a smile on her face. As soon as she saw me opened to the door, she went up to hug me affectionately.

"Yuzu-kun!" she said, happily.

"Uh…hey, Minna." I said, as I hugged her back, "Did you…come to get me?"

"Ja!" she smiled, as she let go of me, "Your friends told me that I'd find you here, so I came here to look for you!"

"I see." I said.

Matou-sensei then came over and said with a smile, "Hello, you must be Minna, Shindou-kun's childhood sweetheart."

"We're not sweethearts." I said, before I turned to Minna and introduced, "Anyway, this Sakura Matou-sensei, she's our teacher for our next class after Emilia-sensei."

"Hallo, Matou-sensei." Minna bowed, "I'm Minna Eckstein Everhart. Sehr nett dich kennzulernen (It's nice to meet you)."

"Yes, nice to meet you, as well." Matou-sensei smiled, before she turned to me and said, "I think she'd make a really good girlfriend."

I sighed and said, "C'mon, don't joke about that."

Matou-sensei giggled and said, "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, since we're together now, why don't we head back to class together? I'm sure our next class will be starting soon."

"Yeah, let's do that." I said.

"Ja, let's!" Minna smiled.

"Oh, and, Shindou-kun," said Matou-sensei, "Since Minna and Elaina-san are new to Fuyuki City, why don't you give them a tour around town as well? I'm sure they'd love to see some sightseeing around the city while they're here. You were charged to keep an eye on them, after all."

I nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll gladly do that."

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'd love to do that with Yuzu-kun!"

Suddenly, I felt something dark watching me as if they had killing intent. I turned to see there were…oh, great…lots of angry and jealous male students and angry and disdainful female students, and Mitsuzuri-sensei who has a kendo stick, as all of them have comical angry looks on their faces as they were all glaring at me and giving off lots of very dark aura, giving me shivers from what they were giving off.

Matou-sensei looked at them with a sweatdrop for a moment, before she turned to me with a smile and said before giggling, "Be careful on your way out, okay? Ehehehehehe~"

I sighed as I brought my head down and said, "Thank you for your concern, Matou-sensei…"

* * *

Later:

We were finished with Matou-sensei's class, so now it was time for P.E. class with the other classmates from other classes; our class was with Hiiragi's class. We were all in our P.E. clothes and were standing in two rows of different classes and in lines as we were facing to our coaches of our P.E. class together, Kaede Makidera-sensei, Kane Himuro-sensei, and Yukika Saegusa-sensei.

Makidera-sensei is the one with black hair and eyes and tanned skin and stands about 5"4' tall, while also wearing a ginning expression on her face. Himuro-sensei is the one with long and straight white hair, brown lifeless eyes, wears glasses, clear skin, and stands about 5"2' tall, while also wearing a straight, stoic, and emotionless expression on her face. Saegusa-sensei is the one with light brown straight shoulder length hair and light brown eyes and, much like Himuro-sensei, has clear skin, and stands about 5"1' tall, while also wear a nervous smile as if she was nervous about something. All of them wear tracksuits, signifying that they are coaches. Makidera-sensei wearing black, Himuro-sensei wearing white, and Saegusa-sensei wearing light brown.

"ALRIGHT!" Makidera-sensei shouted, excitedly, "Now listen up, ladies and dickheads!"

All of the guys in both our classes, including me, groaned from her calling us that.

"It's "ladies and gentlemen"!" one of the guys groaned.

"Get it right, woman!" another shouted.

"Silence!" Makidera-sensei shouted, "My class, my rules!"

"Well, technically, it's our class since it's three of us." said Himuro-sensei, expressionlessly and nonchalantly, "But, yeah, you should follow the rules."

"We're very sorry, everyone." said Saegusa-sensei, somewhat nervously, "But, uh…please try to bear with it."

We guys all sighed at that and said altogether, monotonically, "Yes, ma'am…"

"Now, as I was saying!" said Makidera-sensei, excitedly, "Today, ladies and dickheads, you're all gonna be running all around the track field, and you'll all be running your asses off until I say you're all done! There! Will! Be! No! Stopping! Is that clear, people?!"

"Yes, ma'am…" we all said, monotonically.

"Alright!" said Makidera-sensei, excitedly, "Now, ladies be on the sidelines and start stretching while you wait for all your turns, and we'll first be starting with you, dickheads!" She then looked at me with a grin and said mischievously, "And, Mr. Perverted Peeping Tom."

Everyone then looked at me upon hearing her say that, and they either gave me a look of jealousy or a look of disgust, some were sympathetic. Oh, great…so this is the part where I'm the center of attention due to those followings.

I grumbled before I shouted, "Oh, c'mon, people! It was JUST a freakin' accident! I'm innocent!"

"Uh-huh." said Makidera-sensei, with an unconvinced look, "Sure you are."

"But I am!" I shouted.

"Hey, you did it, your fault, and your loss." said Makidera-sensei, "And, for everyone's sake, you'll be running around twice as fast than the guys today, as punishment."

"What?!" I shouted, incredulously, "You have GOT to be kidding me! Sensei, I-OW!"

Makidera-sensei hit me in the head with a pole staff and said while pointing at me, "I said it, so you do it!"

I rubbed my head from that hit she gave me for a moment, before I sighed and said in defeat, "Yes, ma'am…"

Everyone in class around me were laughing, snickering, and giggling at me from what I got from Makidera-sensei, figuratively and literally. One, from the punishment that I was getting, and two, from getting hit in the head.

Makidera-sensei slammed her staff on the ground hard and shouted, "What're you all laughing at?!" This made everyone instantly shut up.

She then cleared her throat and shouted, "Alright, you dickheads, on the track, move out now!"

Hearing that, all the guys, including me, began to go onto the track and began running around the track field. Since I was gonna do it twice as fast than the guys, I had to run out harder. Basically, I'll be running my ass off all day until I'm through. Oh, well. I guess I did kinda deserve it anyway. Plus…

I looked out to see that Minna, who still had her school uniform on due to not having any gym clothes yet, was sitting on the bench alongside with Saber, watching me run while cheering on for me happily.

I smiled at her doing that and thought, "It's not so bad if Minna is out watching me and cheering me on."

I continued to run along with the guys as Makidera-sensei kept on shouting, "C'mon, you dickheads, keep it moving! Run faster! C'mon! Move it, move it, move it, move it, move it, MOVE IIIIITTT!"

"Your being too loud, Maki-no-ji." said Himuro-sensei, nonchalantly.

* * *

The guys kept on running until we were all tired out and they all stopped to sit down and take a breather. I, on the other hand, was even more tired than the guys, about as twice as tired as anyone could guess, and I had to sit on the bench, so I could rest my two legs. Man, my legs are killing me…and I really need lots of breathing…

"Alright, dickheads, you can go rest now!" said Makidera-sensei, "Ladies, you're next! Get on the tracks, now!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the girls shouted, before they went off to run on the track, while the guys sat where they were on the grass as they watched the girls running on the tracking field.

"Hey, Yuzuru." said Kurosawa-san, "We're gonna watch the ladies run, wanna join us?"

I sighed and said tiredly, "Nah, I'm good. After what happened today, I think I'd rather not. Don't wanna make the girls think badly about me again. Plus, I'm too tired to move."

"Ah, good point." said Kurosawa-san, "Well, all fun for us, then."

He then left to join the guys, leaving me alone on the bench.

I sighed as I was tired as hell today.

"Bitte schön (Here you go)." I heard someone said.

I looked up to see there was a bottle of water being handed to me, and I turned to see that it was Minna who was offering with a smile, with Saber standing next to her.

I smiled back as I took the bottle and said, "Thanks, Minna."

Minna nodded happily before she sat next to me along with Saber, as I opened up the water bottle and began drinking it. After I was done halfway, I set the bottle next to me.

"You've ran very hard today, Yuzu-kun." said Minna.

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I have, after what happened today. But, I guess I kinda deserve it anyway, since everybody hates me for what I did." I turned to look at her and said apologetically, "Oh, and uh…Minna, sorry for walking in and seeing you like that while you and the girls were changing. It really was an accident, honest."

"Nein, I don't mind." Minna smiled, "I know that you're a very good person, Yuzu-kun, and I know you would never mean harm to me nor anyone. If it's you, then I don't mind you seeing me or looking at my body that way, because I love you, Yuzu-kun."

"I see." I said, "Hey, uh…Minna, I mean to ask this, but uh…when and how long did you feel that way about me?"

Minna went closer to me to hug my left arm and place her head on my shoulder said with a smile, "I've always felt that way since we were kids, since that day you made that promise to me…"

"I see." I said, "Since I made that promise."

"If I may ask," Saber interrupted, "What exactly did he promised to you?"

Minna looked at Saber and said happily, "When we were kids and we were living together in Germany five years ago, he promised me that he would be a hero that will protect me because I was important to him. He said that someday, I would be in his good hands, and that he'll protect me." She then placed her head back on my shoulder and said with a smiled, "I still remember that, and it makes me happy!"

"I see." said Saber.

"Yeah, I admit, it's silly when you think about it," I chuckled a little, "But, yeah, that's what I promised. And that's the one thing that I'll never let go, because Minna is special to me. It's silly, but…it's true."

"No, not at all." said Saber, with a small smile, "In fact, I find it very noble and brave of you. Keeping a promise to the one person you love is truly the greatest thing there is as human beings, and I respect that of you. It reminds me of someone that had a similar dream, though I've forgotten who it was." She then looked at me and said in a serious tone, "Still, it would be best that you should try to not make any promises that you cannot keep, otherwise it would get you hurt, or worse."

"I know." I said, "But, I'll still do it and hold onto that promise, even if it kills me."

Saber looked at me for a moment, before she sighed and nodded to me with a small smile, before she looked in front of her, watching our other classmates running around the tracks and said, "Everyone seems to be running hard."

"Yeah they are." I said, "And, believe it or not it's all thanks to our coach, Makidera-sensei."

"Really?" Minna looked at me, surprised.

"Yeah." I said, "She may not look it, but she can be pretty clumsy when it comes to…certain stuffs, and it can be pretty funny from time to time. Though, despite her clumsiness, she takes her job as a coach real seriously, always trying to push everyone until they reached their limit. I'm no exception to that."

"I see." said Minna, amazed, "Japanese people are so interesting."

"Yeah." I chuckled, "People like Makidera-sensei can be weird, but…they aren't so bad once you get to know them and get used to them."

"Indeed." said Saber, "It is what makes everyone humans, and humans can be unique in many ways."

We continued to watch our classmates running around the tracks with Makidera-sensei screaming out "move it" to them while the other two coaches, Himuro-sensei and Saegusa-sensei, tried to calm her excitement, or maybe anger, down. I then looked at Minna and said, "Hey, uh…Minna, do you mind if I talk to you about something?"

Minna looked at me and said, "Nein, I don't mind."

"Okay, good." I said, "Just uh…not right here."

Minna nodded, and we got up from the bench to go talk somewhere quiet. Once we were somewhere private, away from the eyes of everyone, we turned to face each other, as she asked, "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

"Well, Minna," I began, "You see, I uh…if you don't mind, I'd like to start things a little slow right now and take some time to think…and start off as friends, for now."

"O-Oh…" Minna frowned a little, "Really? Is it…because of me, a-am I troubling you?"

"Oh, no, it's not that." I reassured, "It's not you, I promise. It's just…I mean, I really appreciate your feelings for me, it's just…I'm not really sure how I should feel about you right now. I don't know if…I should love you the same way as you love me, at least not yet. I need to…have some time to think about it and figure out my feelings for you. I need to think, and…if I really do feel the same about you, then…I'll…we'll see where it goes."

"Oh, I see." said Minna.

"But, I promise, when I'm done thinking about it, I'll tell you to let you know." I said, "So, um…can you please wait for me patiently as I think about it?"

Minna looked at me for a moment, before she smiled and said, "Ja, of course! I'll always be waiting for you, Yuzu-kun!" She then brought me to her embrace and said, "No matter what, I'll always wait for you, because I'll always love you, Yuzu-kun."

I couldn't help but smile as I hugged her back and said, "Thank you, Minna."

"Well, isn't that a nice view." I heard someone said, making me jump as I recognized that voice.

I let go of Minna and turned to see Mitsuzuri-sensei who was standing there watching us.

I screamed and said panicking, "N-N-No, wait! Mitsuzuri-sensei, it's not what it looks like! I-!"

But then, instead of getting angry at me and going out to attack me again, Mitsuzuri-sensei laughed and said, "Relax, kid, I'm not gonna attack you again. Besides, Sakura already told me that it was just an accident when you came in to the nurse's office while the girls were changing, and that you were having a moment when you were kissing her back in class."

"Uh…wait." I said, surprised, "Matou-sensei did?"

"Yeah." said Mitsuzuri-sensei, while scratching the back of her head, "And, I wanna say sorry for doing that. I overreacted when you did those things and I got the wrong impression about you. You're actually a good guy."

"Oh, not at all, sensei." I said, "And uh…thanks."

"Ah, no problem." she smiled, before she gave a mischievous smile as she came over to my ears and whispered, "Try not to keep the girl waiting too long, or she might get taken away by somebody."

I jumped at her whispering that to me as the thought about Minna going for another guy came into picture. Imagining that made me felt…sad and angry. Mitsuzuri-sensei then laughed and said while leaving, "Well, see you later in the next class. Have fun, you two lovebirds."

I blushed at her calling us that and I shouted out of embarrassment, "WE ARE NOT LOVEBIRDS!"

"SAYS THE GUY WHO KISSED A NEW GIRL IN CLASS!" Mitsuzuri-sensei shouted back, before she went off while laughing.

I grumbled at her laughter. Oh, great. First, it's Matou-sensei, and now it's Mitsuzuri-sensei. Great.

I sighed as Minna giggled.

I then heard a gasped and someone squealed and then shouted excitedly, "YUZZUCHI KISSED A GIRL!"

I sighed as I recognized that voice and mumbled, "Oh, good. And now, she knows…"

I turned around to see Hiiragi quickly approaching me with the other's behind her as she came up to me and asked me super quickly and excitedly, "Yuzzuchi, tell me! Is it true?! Is it true?! Is it true you kissed a girl?! Did you kissed a girl?! Did you?! Did you?! Huh?! Tell me, tell me! How did the kiss go?! What did it felt like?! Was it good?! Did you kissed her good?! Did her lips taste good?! What did it taste like?! Tell me, does that make you two a couple?! Are you two dating now?! Is she your girlfriend now?!"

I stopped Hiiragi from asking more questions and shut her up by flicking her head and said, "I'm not gonna tell you any of that much details. Besides, we're not a couple, and Minna's not my girlfriend! At least, not yet anyway, because I need some time to think about it. And we only kissed because we were caught in the moment."

"Oh." said Hiiragi, "Really? Then, does that mean the rumors about you two being now lovebirds is false info?"

"I have no idea where you got the information about the idea of us being lovebirds." I said, "But yes, it's all false."

"Oh." said Hiiragi, looking down now disappointed, "Well, that blows. I heard it from other people that said that you were a lucky guy getting a beautiful girl like that, so I just assumed."

"Well, still, that doesn't mean that I'll be with Minna and keeping an eye on her." I said, "I mean, she's still new here, so I have to make sure that she's kept safe and all. Besides, just because we aren't a couple, that doesn't mean I don't care about Minna's well-being. She's still my childhood friend."

"Ohh." said Hiiragi, before she smiled brightly and said excitedly, "Well, on the plus side, you got yourself quite a cute girl who LIKES you! And you are SUPER popular with that girl now!"

"Yep!" Kurosawa-san smiled, "And for once, I envy you, my man!"

"That does NOT make me feel any better…" I said, monotonically, and with a deadpanned expression.

Minna came over to me and hugged my arm and said with a smile, "It's okay. As long as I'm with you, I don't care what people say about us, and being with you makes me happy."

"Minna…" I said.

I looked back at everyone who just laughed and giggled at what was in front of them, me and Minna, and I just groan at them. Well, all of them, except for Yukitsuki-san, who just looked at us with a sad expression. Huh. I wonder what's wrong with her?

"Well, anyway, let's head back." I said, "Knowing Makidera-sensei, she'll probably be looking for us and then give us punishment for being gone from their sight."

We then went to head back before the coach starts looking for us, until suddenly, my phone began to ring. I stopped to take a look and see what it is, only to find a text message…from unknown.

I opened it and it said, "I'd like to meet you ASAP. Meet me at the school rooftop on our next break. Come alone."

"Huh?" I thought, "I wonder who it is, and how did they get my phone number?"

"Yuzu-kun." said Minna, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, no." I said, putting my phone away, "It's nothing."

While everyone kept on walking back, Saber was the one who noticed and approached me discretely from everyone else. Once she was close enough to me, she whispered to me, "Master, is something wrong?"

"Well, I don't know." I whispered back, "I just got some message from someone to meet me at the rooftop, and to go alone." I looked at my phone and whispered, "I have no idea who it is, but whoever it is, has my phone number and email address."

"Could it be a Master?" Saber whispered, "If it is, then it is likely a trap."

"No, I don't think so." I whispered, "And besides, Masters and Servants don't attack each other in broad daylight, especially when in public, so I don't think we should have anything to worry about."

"Hmm." Saber whispered, thinking, "I hope you're right."

"Don't worry, though." I whispered, "If anything goes wrong, I'll be sure to call you."

"Are you sure you don't need me to come along?" Saber whispered, "I could come with you if there's trouble."

"No, I think I'll be fine." I whispered, "And besides…" I looked at Minna talking to the others as I added, "I'm more worried about her well-being than my own. I don't want anything to happen to her while I'm gone." I turned to Saber and asked in a whisper, "So, could you keep an eye on her for me while I'm gone?"

Saber looked at Minna and thought for a moment, before she whispered, "If…that is what you wish…"

I gave her a small smile and whispered, "Consider it an order from your Master."

Saber looked at me with wide eyes for a bit, before she nodded and returned her small smile and whispered, "Very well. I will do as you wish. But, don't forget to use them if…"

I showed her my bandaged hand and whispered, "Don't worry, I know."

Saber nodded to me, before we decided to follow back to everyone who were waiting for me as they were calling us.

* * *

After P.E. was over, I was dressed in my school uniform as I went off to go to the school rooftop. I was already at the rooftop to find that no one was here. Strange. I wonder who'd call me here.

Before I knew it, I felt someone was here, and I turned to see, to my surprise, that it was Tsukuda-san, one of Mirai-senpai's friends. She was looking at me with a straight and somewhat serious face, like what we're gonna be talking about is serious.

"Uh…hey." I greeted, "Uh…how's it going?"

She didn't give out any answer. She was…quiet. Okay, this is getting a bit awkward.

"Okay…" I said, awkwardly, "So, uh…a-a lot of things happened, and uh…well, it's just like what Mirai-senpai had predicted what would happen to me today, and it happened! So, uh…yeah, I…guess that means magic and mages are real, and I have to believe it now. So, yeah…I believe you guys now."

Tsukuda-san remained quiet for a moment, before she said almost quietly, "I see."

"Y-Yeah." I said, awkwardly, "So, anyway, uh…I wanna thank Mirai-senpai and you guys for-"

"You're gonna die here, you know?" said Tsukuda-san, cutting me off.

"Huh?" I looked at her, confused, "Wait…what now? What'd you say?"

"You heard me." said Tsukuda-san, "I said, you're going to die here, and it going to be very soon. You poor thing."

"Huh?" I said, even more confused, "I-I'm sorry, w-what? I'm…gonna die? Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Tsukuda-san, "Because we're in the middle of the Holy Grail War. Masters and Servants must fight against each other to the death until only one pair survives."

"B-But, it's the middle of the day." I said, "Masters and Servants don't attack people or each other in the middle of daylight. Plus, we're in a middle of public, so we're completely safe as long as there are people around."

"Perhaps," said Tsukuda-san, "But that still doesn't change the fact that you'll die very soon."

"W-What do you mean?" I said, somewhat nervously.

"Don't you remember last night?" said Tsukuda-san, as she approached me, "You were wondering all over the school during the night yesterday."

"Hmm?" I said, confused for a bit, before I realized what she meant and said, "O-O-Ohh."

"Yep." she said, with a small smile, "They'll probably kidnap you some time this evening." She then whispered, "The other Masters and Servants who're here."

"H-H-Huh?!" I stammered, shocked, "W-W-Wait, what?! O-Other Masters and Servants?! W-What?!"

"They'll kidnap you and interrogate you." said Tsukuda-san, "About Lady Mirai and Assassin, and about her and the people who saved you and brought you to our home, before you became a Master of Saber."

The people who saved me…?

Then, a realization hit me, as I thought about last night, about the people who brought me to their home and led me to the woods to summon Saber, about Mirai-senpai's three servants who were with her, as everything about it made sense. They were the ones who helped me while fighting Berserker!

"Ohh!" I said, in realization, "So it was you guys last night back in the Tohsaka Mansion! That makes sense!"

"Huh?" said Tsukuda-san, shocked at what I said, as she stepped back with wide eyes, "Wait, you didn't know that already?"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, uh, no…sorry, it was too dark last night back at the mansion, because there weren't any lights, so I couldn't see you guys or make out what you looked like back there. Why?"

Hearing what I just said, Tsukuda-san suddenly turned around showing her back towards me, as she was now…shaking? As she said, "I take the gun."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "I'm…sorry, I'm confused. What's the matter?"

She didn't turn to look at me, as her body was still shaking, as if she was embarrassed about something, until she said, without even turning to look at me, "Okay, fine. I admit it. I fucking dug a hole for myself, okay? I dug my own grave…!" She then turned with a blush of embarrassment as she shouted, "That's hilarious, isn't it?! Go on ahead, laugh it up! Fucking laugh it out loud!"

"Uh, okay, look." I said, raising both my hands up trying to calm her down, "I really have absolutely no idea what's going on, but just relax. Take it easy."

"Regardless!" Tsukuda-san shouted, while pointing at me, "Every Masters and Servants will come after you, capture you, interrogate you, and then they'll eventually find out that it was us who saved you before they kill you! No, scratch that, they'll kill you because you're a Master, regardless of what you know, and then take away your Saber by force!"

"Wait, what?!" I said, even more confused, and a little scared, "W-What're you-?"

"They're like the dog with the sharp nose!" she shouted, "Or those kids who always know when the school store gets new snacks!"

"W-What?!" I said, a lot more confused, now, "What are you saying?! That makes no sense!"

"Which is why…" she said, as she approached me, until her face was close to mine as she said, "Sorry, but…you have to die." She then said in a whisper, "Right here and right now. Die."

"H-Huh?!" I said, shocked, as Tsukuda-san pushed me against the fence that was behind me, making me look behind me to see that behind me was a clear and opened field, before looking down seeing that we were way up high.

"W-Wait!" I shouted, "What're you-? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"I do." said Tsukuda-san, "Now then…fall."

Then, with full and powerful force, she pushed me real hard, breaking the fence behind me and making me fall down behind me. But I acted quickly and grabbed onto the ledge of the building with my left hand, holding on for dear life. The sound of the wind blowing was the only thing being heard as I looked up to see Tsukuda-san was looking down at me with a serious look on her face, as if she was serious about killing me.

"W-Wait, Tsukuda-san!" I shouted, as I was struggling to hold on, "Please, stop! You don't know what you're doing!"

But Tsukuda-san didn't listen to me, as she continued doing what she was doing by stepping on my hand that was holding on, causing me pain.

"AAUGH!" I screamed, in pain, as I then screamed out "W-WAIT! PLEASE, STOP! Y-YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! I'M NOT YOUR ENEMY! I-I WON'T SAY ANYTHING, I SWEAR!"

"But you'll surrender if the Masters or Servants drug you or even use Magecraft on you." said Tsukuda-san, stepping on my hand again, "And I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm going to kill you and take your Command Seals away. I'll be taking Saber away from you."

"W-WHAT?!" I shouted, shocked, "W-Why would you do that?!"

"Because I say so, weakling." said Tsukuda-san, "You're not fit to be called a Master, let alone be Saber's Master. A non-mage like you is unfit to be fighting in the war that he should know he can't win in. In fact, I wouldn't be surprise that you'd die the instant a Servant attacks you."

"B-But, I-!"

"Shut up!" Tsukuda-san shouted, stepping on my hand again, "Now, make it easy on yourself, and hand over the Command Seals on your hand! If you do, I'll make sure your death is as quick and painless as possible!"

"I-I…I…I can't do that!" I shouted, "I can't just-!"

"Shut up and die already!" Tsukuda-san shouted, "And give me those Command Seals!"

"N-No!" I shouted, "I told you, I can't-!"

I stopped to gasp, as I suddenly saw that Tsukuda-san had a handgun pointing at my face.

"W-Wait…!" I said, eyes widened, "I-Is that…is that real?!"

"Well, what would be the point in concealing a fake one, huh?" said Tsukuda-san, with a serious look in her eyes, "You know…you really are fucking slow. Prepare to die."

D-Dammit! She's serious! I-I gotta do something! B-But what?! A-Augh! Dammit, my arm! I-I can't…hold on any longer!

"HEY, SHINDOU!" I heard someone yelled.

W-Wait, that voice…!

I turned to look down and saw that it was Makidera-sensei, Himuro-sensei, and Saegusa-sensei, who were passing by. They looked like they were done with whatever other classes that they have. From the look on their face, I could tell that they were both either angry and/or worried of what I was doing.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!" Makidera-sensei yelled, angrily, clearly not pleased with what I'm doing, "ARE YOU TRYING TO CLIMB UP A BUILDING?! GET OFF FROM UP THERE THIS INSTANT, IT'S DANGEROUS!"

"U-U-Uh…Maki-chan," said Saegusa-sensei, worriedly, "I-I don't…think that's what's happening…!"

"Well, whatever's happening up there, we need to get him out, now!" said Himuro-sensei, with a serious look on her face.

"Makidera-sensei, Himuro-sensei, Saegusa-sensei…!" I thought, before I looked back at Tsukuda-san, still pointing her gun at me, "Dammit…! I guess, I don't have a choice…! They'll have to catch me…! It's now or never!"

I let go of the ledge as I let myself fall from the roof, and as I began to fall, I began to lose consciousness, with the last thing I see was Tsukuda-san being far away from me as I fell, and the last things I heard were,

"Oh, no! …FALL…G!"

"Shi…-kun...!"

"Hang…! …COMMMIII…!"

Then, everything went black.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I watched him as he falls from the top of the roof, before he was quickly caught by one of the coaches, who ran up to him at a ridiculous speed, and just in time to catch him too, before the other two went to them to check up on him.

"Damn…!" I cursed, as I put my gun away, before I took out my phone and made a call to Hiroko and Aimi.

"And?" Hiroko asked, on the other line.

"He got away from me before I could finish him off." I said, "He got lucky."

"I see…" said Hiroko.

"Well, what shall we do?" Aimi asked.

"We'll get him." I said, "I'll go and set up traps for him. You two, deal with him next."

"Understood." said Hiroko.

"As you say." said Aimi.

I nodded and hung up, and then looked back to watch him one more time, before turning around to leave.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I woke up and quickly got up, before I look around and found myself in a bed at the nurse's office. Was I…brought here? I guess I must've been brought here after I was saved. I sighed in relief, feeling that I was safe.

"Ah, good, you're awake!" someone said.

I turned around to see that it was Makidera-sensei, Himuro-sensei, and Saegusa-sensei, who were standing there, smiling at me. Well, I mean, two of them smiling, mostly.

"Uh…yeah." I said, "I am."

"So, got any broken bones or anything?" Makidera-sensei asked, "Because, man, that sure was a close call for me to catch you. Wish you'd seen it!"

"You were lucky we were there, and Maki-no-ji caught you on time." said Himuro-sensei, expressionlessly and nonchalantly, "Otherwise, you'd be dead already and we'd have some huge problems."

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Saegusa-sensei asked, worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine." I said, "Uh, thanks, Makidera-sensei. I owe you."

Makidera-sensei gave out a shit-eating grin and said, "Ah, not at all, kid! What's important is that you're safe and sound!" Her expression then went down and said, "Still, I'd wish people would've seen it. I can't believe nobody saw the action I made today! Just my luck."

"Well, what'd you expect?" said Himuro-sensei, expressionlessly and nonchalantly, "We were all by ourselves and he was the only one at the rooftop before he fell."

"Kane-chan, Maki-chan…" said Saegusa-sensei, before looking at me and said, "Well, in any case, we're glad you're not hurt."

"Uh, yeah." I said, "All thanks to you three. Thank you, sensei." Then, a thought of Tsukuda-san came to me, and I asked, "Hey, did you…happen to see anyone else, at the rooftop? Like a girl, with blonde hair?"

They looked at me and thought about what I asked them for a moment, before Makidera-sensei answered, "No, kid, as far as we're concern, it was…just you."

"I don't think I saw anyone else at the rooftop other than you, let alone a girl that's blonde." said Himuro-sensei.

"Neither did I." said Saegusa-sensei, "Why do you ask?"

"W-Well, I-" I was about to answer, before a thought came to me.

"Wait…" I thought, "Oh, that's right! I forgot that they're mages, so they could use Magecraft! If they couldn't see Tsukuda-san at the roof, that means she must've used something to make her hide her presence! That would make sense!" I then looked at the coaches and thought about telling them, before I shook it off and thought, "No, I can't bring them into this! If I bring them into it, there's no telling what'll happen to them."

"Shindou-kun?" said Saegusa-sensei, worriedly.

"Ah, no, it's nothing." I said, "I was…just wondering."

"Oh, I see." said Saegusa-sensei, "Well, if you say so."

"Well, anyway!" Makidera-sensei smiled, "You should hurry and head back to class soon! Your fourth class is gonna start soon! You don't wanna be late, do you?"

"A-Ah, right." I said, as I got out of bed, "Right. Uh…thanks."

I then left the nurse's office to head back to class.

* * *

"And this class," said Mitsuzuri-sensei, as she was teaching, "Is how you would be…"

Everyone in class was paying attention to what Mitsuzuri-sensei was teaching us today in class, even Minna and Saber were completely focused and were paying attention very well to what she was saying. But, me…I couldn't. I just couldn't focus on class as my thoughts were back to Tsukuda-san and what she was about to do to me. I wonder why…why would she want to kill me? And why take my Command Seals and Saber? I then thought back to what she said.

* * *

Flashback: before…

"Because I say so, weakling." said Tsukuda-san, "You're not fit to be called a Master, let alone be Saber's Master. A non-mage like you is unfit to be fighting in the war that he should know he can't win in. In fact, I wouldn't be surprise that you'd die the instant a Servant attacks you."

* * *

Now:

"Is that…true?" I thought, "Am I…really just a liability to Saber? Am I just…giving her trouble because I'm not a mage? I wonder wha-"

Suddenly, something hit me in the head, snapping me back into reality as I heard Mitsuzuri-sensei shouted, "Hey, Shindou-kun!"

"Ow!" I groaned, in pain, as I rubbed my head.

"Jeez, pay attention, you dweeb!" said Mitsuzuri-sensei, with a serious expression on her face, "You're in the middle of class, and I'm teaching you something you'll miss out!"

"H-Huh?" I looked up, before I realized and said apologetically, "O-Ohh! Uh…I-I'm…sorry."

Everyone in class laughed and giggled at me for what I did, seeing that I was being silly, while Mitsuzuri-sensei just sighed as she held the bridge between her eyes and said, "C'mon, kid, it's bad enough that you made commotions of yourself in school, but you shouldn't be distracted in the middle of class. You should try and stay focus right now."

"Uh, yes, sensei." I said, "Sorry about that."

Mitsuzuri-sensei sighed before she nodded and said, "Just don't let what happened today get to you."

"Yes, sensei." I said.

"Good." said Mitsuzuri-sensei, before she went back up and resumed her lecturing, making everyone get back to paying attention, "Now, as I was saying…"

I sighed to myself before I slapped both sides of my face to get myself focused, and then I looked up to pay attention, and went on writing to what she was teaching us.

After class was over, everyone in class went off to go on break while few remained in class to wait for their next subject. I stayed in my desk as I was in deep thoughts about what happened today.

"Yuzuru." someone called, making me look up to see it was Saber, as she asked me out of concern, "Is there something wrong?"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, no, it's nothing. I was just thinking of stuff."

"Don't lie to me." said Saber, "I know what happened at the rooftop."

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, you know?!"

"Of course, I do!" said Saber, sternly, "We're both connected through our pact, remember?! I can feel whatever you feel, and I know you didn't call me whenever you needed me!"

"O-Oh!" I said, as I remembered, "R-Right! Uh…s-sorry, I forgot."

Saber sighed, before she added, "And…I know what you're thinking. It's about you not being a mage, isn't it?"

"Well, uh…" I said, while looking around, as there were a few eyes on us. I then got up from my seat and said, "Let's take this elsewhere. Come with me."

Saber realized what I meant before she nodded and then followed me to find a place that was quiet.

* * *

We were outside where there weren't any watchful eyes around us. It was quiet, and the coast was perfectly clear.

"Okay, it's safe here." I said, "Alright, let's continue."

Saber nodded and then said, "As I was saying before, I know what you're thinking about. I felt what you felt through our pact, so I know what happened."

"Right, okay." I said.

"Though I'm glad you're not hurt, I do, however, feel concerned about your thoughts after what had transpired." said Saber, "Tell me, why are you thinking such a thing, of you not worthy of being a Master? You were chosen by the Holy Grail to fight in a battle, and you summoned me to fight alongside you as your Servant. Why are you doubting yourself?"

"Well," I said, "I…I guess, it's…because, maybe Tsukuda-san's right? That I'm a liability to you? Besides, I'm not a full-fledge mage. If I was, you probably wouldn't-"

"Stop!" Saber cut me off, before she said, "I understand what you're trying to say, but I will not let such trivial matter get the better of you nor me in our future battles."

"B-But-"

"No buts!" said Saber, sternly, before she softens and said, "Whether you are mage or not, you are still my Master, and as your Servant, I will do everything in my power to protect you, and I will follow you whatever your orders are. Even if no Masters will believe in your abilities, I will. and besides, you have much power than you realize, so you are not a liability to me."

"Saber…" I said.

"Just believe in yourself." said Saber, with a small smile, "As I believe in you. Oh, and of course, Minna does as well."

My eyes widened at the mention of Minna. Of course, Minna! That's right. She believes in me, because of the promise I made to her, that I would be her hero someday. Yes, if Minna believes in me, and if Saber believes in me, then I…I should believe in myself, too.

I nodded and said with a smile, "Thanks, Saber. I guess I really needed that."

Saber nodded and said, "You're welcome, my Master. I'm your sword, and my strength is your strength to fight with. Never forget that."

"Yeah…" I smiled, as Saber smiled back.

Suddenly, I felt something. Something…like a strong pulse.

"W-What the-?!" I said, feeling it, "W-What is this?!"

"I-I don't know…!" said Saber, feeling it as well, "But…huh?!"

"W-What?!" I said, looking at Saber, as she was looking at somewhere else.

"Yuzuru, look!" Saber pointed, making me look at where she was pointing.

What I saw was, to my shock, was the shadows of the trees moving, but not in the way the trees move when the wind blows, it was moving on its own, like it was alive, forming arms of sorts, making strange noises, and trying to reach to…our shadows!

"W-What is that?!" I shouted, shocked.

"An illusion!" Saber shouted, before she began pushing me and said, "Master, run!"

Saber pushed me until I was forced to run away from the moving shadows along with her, as the shadows began to move and trying to follow us. As we ran, I shouted, "What in the world's happening?!"

"It's an illusion Magecraft!" Saber shouted, "Someone's trying to get to you! And there can only be one type of people who could do that!"

"Mages!" I guessed.

"And it's not just any mage!" Saber shouted, "It is a work of a Master!"

"A Master is here?!" I shouted, shocked, "But, who would-?!"

"We'll think about it later, we have to run away from it!" Saber shouted, "We can't stop to fight here, it would only draw attention to public!"

"Uh, right!" I said, as we continued running.

We kept on running until we found a building that looked like a dojo. I quickly recognized it to be the building of the disbanded kendo club, and I quickly told Saber, "In here! Quick!"

Saber nodded and followed me into the dojo. Once we were inside, we quickly shut the door and locked it, making sure those strange shadow things don't come in after us. We quickly made a barricade using a nearby drawer to hold the door, and we stayed where we were to hold the door as there were some sudden banging and beating at the door, as if trying to break in. It kept on going until finally, it stopped.

"I think it worked." I said.

Saber nodded and said, "For now, but we don't know if-!" Saber suddenly gasped.

"Huh?" I said, confused, "What's wrong?"

Out of quick reaction, Saber picked up a nearby shinai kendo sword and shouted, "GET DOWN!"

Eyes widened, I quickly ducked down as Saber swung the kendo sword in a horizontal strike, before I heard she hit something, and there was a strange eerie noise. I turned around and saw that Saber took down the strange shadow that somehow came in.

"Master, stay back!" Saber pushed me to go behind her, before going in a stance.

The strange shadow stayed where it was until it suddenly desiccated, disappearing into nothing. We looked around to see that there were more of them, but then they suddenly moved away, disappearing into the shadows.

"W-What was that?!" I said, shocked and confused, "I thought you said they were illusions!"

"So, did I," said Saber, "But it would seem I was mistaken. They were no mere illusions, they were shadow familiars. Likely, foot soldiers of some kind."

"And a Master was the one who brought them here?" I asked.

"Most likely, yes." said Saber, "Although, judging by how easily they were defeated, it is likely a work of a third-rate mage."

"Third-rate mage?" I asked.

"Mages who're the weakest of stage." Saber answered, "Mages of such rates can perform Magecraft, but not in the exact same level of first-rate mages, who're more superior at performing great feet of Magecraft, such as Mirai."

"I see." I said, "Then whoever called those things must've been an amateur."

"Correct." said Saber, "Those foot soldier familiars don't do much damage when fighting alone, but they can be overwhelming if there are more of them. In other words, they're just distractions."

"I see." I said. Then, the thought of Mirai-senpai and her group came to my head, and I asked, "Speaking of Mirai-senpai, do you think she or her friends may have brought those things to us so that they could attack us?"

"No, not likely." said Saber, "Neither of Mirai's subordinates are third-rate mages. In fact, I could tell that they're nearly on the same level as her, so I doubt that they'd summon familiars as weak as those shadows. Even if they did, I'd tell that they're much stronger because of the mana supplies that they give them."

"I see." I said, "Yeah, I guess you have a point."

"And besides," Saber added, "I don't sense Mirai at school today, so it is likely that she's at home and not attending school. The only three magical traces I sense are three."

"Three…which means that it's Mirai-senpai's friends." I guessed, "Not just Tsukuda-san, but also Ishikawa-san and Aimi, too."

"Most likely." Saber nodded, "And if they're after you, then that means they plan to kill you in order to take away your Command Seals if you're not careful."

I looked at my bandaged arm where the Command Seals were on as I thought for a moment, before I said, "In that case, let me deal with them."

"What?!" Saber turned to look at me, "Master, you cannot be serious! Do you plan on fighting them just the way you are?!"

"It's me they're after, isn't it?" I said, "So it's only fair that I should take them on myself."

"Yuzuru, do not be ridiculous!" said Saber, sternly, "You're not even a mage, and you can't fight against them three-on-one! Plus, I can tell you have no experience in fighting whatsoever, let alone against mages, or even Servants! If they're after you, then I should be the one to fight against them!"

"No!" I said back, sternly, silencing Saber, before I sighed and said, "It's me they want, so I should be the one that should go against them, even if I don't have any capability as a fighter. Besides, even if they're top-rate mages, they're still humans, and you're a Servant, so you'll only end up killing them. I don't want that to happen. I know that this is the Holy Grail War, but…killing them would be wrong."

Saber looked at me for a moment, before she sighed and said, "You have a point, but still…"

"Don't worry, I'll try to manage." I said, with a reassuring smile, "Plus…" I went over to the basket filled with kendo swords, before picking up two of them and said, "…and I might be going crazy, but to be honest, I'm…actually pretty excited about this. I'd like to try challenging them."

Saber looked at me with wide eyes, as if she was surprised at seeing another side of me, before she smiled and said, "Very well, then. If you insist, I won't interfere. But, what shall I do while you keep them busy?"

I turned to Saber and said, "Well, aside from those three who're likely gonna come to kill me, there's this third-rate mage who's likely a Master. And, if a Master is here…"

"Then a Servant will most likely be here as well." Saber guessed.

"Yup, good guess." I said, "And I know Masters and Servants don't attack people in the middle of the day, especially in public. But, just in case they do, I want you to stay with Minna and protect her from any sorts of danger for me. Take her back home and keep her safe until I get back to you."

"I see." said Saber, "You're worried that if anyone tries to get to her, they'll get to you as well."

"Yeah." I nodded, "Besides, she's my responsibility, so keeping an eye on her is my top priority. Plus, I wanna make sure Minna is kept safe from all this. I don't want her to get involved and get hurt, or worse."

Saber placed a hand on my shoulder and said with a small smile, "You really do care for her, don't you, Master?"

"Yeah." I said, "I do. More than anything, I do. Besides, I have a promise to keep, even if it kills me."

Saber looked at me for a moment, before she sighed and said with a small smile, "I will do as you ask. Just…do not die on my account, nor hers. If you die, I will be gone as well, so be careful."

I nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will. I'll try not to die."

I then found a big black bag, big enough to put in all of the kendo swords and to carry in with, before I went to pick it up, and then went to the other kendo swords in the baskets to put them in, to ready myself.

* * *

Evening already came by, and just about almost everyone has left the classroom, as school was already over. Most of the students decided to leave school to head home, some of them decided to stay for few things they need to do for their clubs before they decided to go home as well. I was in my classroom, with my black bag filled with all the kendo swords I could find, packing up some school things with Saber when someone outside called me.

"Yuzu-kun!" someone called at the doorway, and I looked to see that it was Minna, who was smiling and waving at me.

Saber and I looked at each other and nodded, before we picked up our carried belongings and turned to walked towards where Minna was at. As soon as we came over to her, she came to me and hugged me for a bit, before she looked at me and said with a happy smile, "Yuzu-kun, let's go home together! I wanna walk home with you!"

I smiled sadly and said, "Um…sorry, Minna, I don't think I can today."

"O-Oh, really?" Minna frowned a bit, "Why not?"

"Uh…well, uh…" I tried to explain, "You see-"

"Someone from another class called him and said that they needed help on something." Saber said for me, "So, Yuzuru will be staying at school for a little longer to be an extra hand before he leaves."

"Oh, really?" said Minna, surprised, "You're gonna help someone today?"

"Uh, yeah." I said, "They said they just needed help on some few things, that's all. As soon as I'm done, I'll come back home. I asked Elaina to help show you where my place is, so that I wouldn't worry about you getting lost."

"Oh, I see!" Minna smiled, "Well, okay! Since it's Elaina who'll help show me your place, I don't mind. Just be home soon, okay?" She then went up to kiss me on the cheek, before she stepped back and said with a smile, "Well, bye, Yuzu-kun! I'll see you home soon!" She then went off to leave school as she giggled along.

I looked at Saber before I signaled her to go with her, and she nodded to my signal before she went off to go catch up and go home with Minna. I then looked outside the window to see that Minna was walking to the school gate along with Saber, before stopping to see that Yukitsuki-san was calling to them as she went up to them. They stayed and talked for a bit before they looked like they decided to walk back home together. Then, they went out of the school gate, leaving the school ground before turning to walk towards home.

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I was hiding within the shadows as I watched from within the top of the trees with the scope of my sniper to see that Saber, the redheaded girl, and the kid's lady friend were already leaving the school ground, before I contacted my Master telepathically and said, "It looks like the kid left Saber to watch over his lady friend for a while, while he stays to deal with our friends."

"I see." said Mirai, telepathically, "So he intends to fight them on his own, and with her gone in Saber's protection, he has little to worry about. Yes, that's just quite like him."

"Should I go and engage Saber in a fight before I kidnap the girl, putting the kid in a disadvantage?" I asked.

I heard her chuckling and she said telepathically, "No, let's not do that. We're here to test the boy, not to pressure him. If he so chooses to leave Saber to care for them, leave them be. Besides, that girl has nothing to do with the Holy Grail War nor the mage world, so we should leave her alone. If we did bring her into this, it'll only make things difficult for him, not just for us."

"I see." I said, "Yes, sounds like a fair point."

"Remain where you are for now." said Mirai, telepathically, "You are to be the eyes and ears for this to see how he progress in his test. If anything happens, let me know at once."

"Very well." I said, "I'll do as you wish."

"Good." said Mirai, telepathically, "Keep an eye on things for me, Assassin. If anything goes wrong, let me know."

"Understood." I said, before we cut our connection, and I looked through my scope of my sniper to see the kid watching through the school windows. I gave out a grin as I said, "Now then, let's see what you can do, Little Novice of a Master."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

As soon as they were gone from my sight, I sighed and said, "I know you're out there. You can come on out, now!"

As soon as I said that, I heard some footsteps that were coming from the stairs, before they stopped as a figure appeared from the stairs and turned to face me. I turned around to see who it was, and saw that it was none other than Aimi Shimizu, who was standing as an elegant maid she was, both hands held in front of her, and with a smile on her face.

"Aimi…" I said.

"Why, good evening, Shindou-sama." Aimi smiled, as she greeted with a bow, "I see you're looking wonderful today. Ah, and I see that you're all by yourself this evening."

"Yeah." I said, "I left Saber to watch over Minna to make sure she's kept safe, away from the fighting area as possible. And with all the people around here in school ground gone, that just leaves me to worry about you guys; you and your two friends."

"I see." said Aimi, "So, you chose to have your Servant's care and protection be in for another rather than your own. That would mean you intend to fight us on your own instead of having to use Saber to fight for you."

"That's right." I said, as I drew out a kendo sword from my bag, "It's just me and you three here. No one needs to get involved in this, not even Minna. Besides, she's my responsibility, and if she stays here, she'll only get herself hurt, or worse, and I don't want that to happen. That's why I left Saber to be with her, to protect her for me."

Aimi giggled and said, "How very brave and noble of you, Shindou-sama. But, also quite foolish. You're not a full-fledge mage, and you have very little to no fighting experiences. You've only managed to learn about the mage world in merely one night while being a Master. We, on the other hand, have been in and experienced the mage world for years during our apprenticeship. Do you really think you truly have a chance against us, Mr. Non-magus-sama?"

"I might not be a mage," I said, "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna back down easily. And you're right, I don't have any fighting experience, so I might not be able to beat you in a fight, but that doesn't mean I can't at least try to. If I want to live to uphold the promise I made to Minna, then I have to fight in order to do so." I sighed before I added, "Besides, I'm pretty excited about doing this. No way I'm gonna step away from a challenge like this."

"I see." said Aimi, before she sighed and said with a sad smile, "What a shame. Unlike Sayaka and Hiroko, I have no intention of killing you. I was only wishing that I could end this battle peacefully without having the need to kill you. And, I was hoping that you would give away your Command Seals peacefully without having the need to fight against us. But, I suppose that's not an option for you, is it, Shindou-sama?"

"That's right." I said, "I'm not gonna give away my Command Seals that easily, even if you're doing so in a peaceful method. Besides, if I gave away my Command Seals to someone else, I'd feel like I'd only end up betraying Saber. I don't want that. Plus, I'd imagine Saber would try to kill me if she ended up in another's hand."

"Hmm, quite understandable, I suppose." Aimi nodded to my statement. She then drew out her two machetes and said, "Very well then, Shindou-sama. I didn't want to do this to you, truly I didn't…but, since you left me with no choice, we'll have it your way."

I positioned myself in a fighting stance with my sword in front of me, as I gave out a determined look and said, "Come and get me, then."

Aimi gave out a small smile before going into her own fighting stance. We stood where we were for a moment, neither one of us making any first moves yet as the light from the sunset was slowly shining through the windows, letting some time to pass slowly. Then, without missing a beat, Aimi made the first move by quickly dashing forward and moved with an incredible speed, surprising me for a moment, as Aimi was already in front of me while everything around us went into slow motion.

"Whoa!" I thought, "She's fast!"

Then, Aimi quickly went for the first strike, right to my left side. I quickly reacted and then blocked it in time before her blade could make contact to my side. With an incredible speed, she quickly used her other machete from her other hand to aim for my head, before I quickly pushed her machete away to block the other one. She then went again to aim for another area before I quickly blocked it, and then again, and again. She was attacking me with an incredible speed that I almost couldn't even predict her movements, putting me only on the defenses.

"She's not just fast!" I thought, as I continued blocking her attacks, "She's also pretty strong! I can tell just from the amount of force she's using from the hits she's making!"

"What's the matter, Shindou-sama?!" Aimi shouted, while she continued attacking, "Can you not land a scratch on me?!"

She then went for the upper strike with both machetes, before I quickly blocked it from above. But the force from her strike she was making was strong, putting me into a struggle to hold on and push back. I looked in front of me to see that Aimi was about to kick me with her left, but I quickly countered with my right kick and pushed her back with it, forcing her to step back and moved away her machetes as I swung at her. Aimi jumped back and did a backflip before drawing out her throwing knives from her leg straps and then threw them at me.

"WHOA!" I shouted, as I reacted quickly and dodged her attacks coming at me, making them only managing to hit either the floor or the nearby walls.

Aimi landed on the ground before drawing out more throwing knives and began throwing them at me one by one, making me quickly dodge them with each knife thrown at me, before I quickly blocked the one that was coming at my face, and I began to quickly run away.

"You can run, Shindou-sama!" Aimi shouted, as she began to follow suit, "But you can't hide!"

I kept on running away as fast as I can, before stopping myself and quickly moved to go through the stairs to get downstairs, running to get to the first floor of the school building. I looked at the kendo sword that I had in my hand to only see that it was already too damaged to even use for fighting anymore. I quickly turned around and threw the damaged sword at Aimi to distract her, only for her to easily knock it away and kept on pursuing me. I turned back around and kept running as soon as I brought out my next kendo sword, before I then moved into the classroom and shut both the doors tightly, and quickly placed two swords from my bag to lock the doors before quickly making a barricade. I stepped back from the door as I heard some banging outside of both the doors and then some slight movements as if struggling to open the doors. Then, it stopped.

"Okay…" I sighed, taking it easy for a bit, "That should hold…"

Suddenly, I heard some explosions that were being made outside, and while it was faint, I could hear outside that Aimi was chanting something.

"Oh, crap!" I said, stepping back from the doors, "Is she chanting some spells?!"

I quickly turned to the windows before looking back at the doors, seeing that they looked as if they were going to break down anytime soon.

"Dammit, no choice!" I shouted, "Better now than never!"

I then quickly turned to the windows before I immediately began running up to them and then jumped through them, instantly breaking through the windows with full force before the explosion was made behind me, hinting that Aimi has broken through the doors and barricades, and I got outside of the school before I quickly began to run away to my right.

* * *

Aimi's POV:

As soon as the smoke had cleared out within the room, I quickly ran in with my machetes to see if Shindou-sama was inside, only to see that he was not in here and that the windows were completely broken.

"Damn…!" I cursed, "He must've gotten through the windows and escaped!"

I then quickly went out of the classroom to go and search for him through a different route.

"The others will probably go after him!" I thought, "But hopefully I'll get to him before any of them do!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I kept running away as fast as I could away from Aimi, who most likely will come after me, until I quickly hid myself around the corner to stop and take a breather. Man, that was close. I stayed where I was for a bit, before I took a quick peak out of the corner to look, only to see that no one was there. I moved back with my back against the wall to again take some breather.

"Okay…" I whispered, "Okay…relax…you got this…"

I then went to take another peak out of the corner to look behind me, but…to my shock, someone was there, before I quickly recognized this person to be Ishikawa-san, leaning her back against the wall, with her sword in her hand.

She turned her head to face me and said stoically, "Playing hide and seek somewhere?"

"C-Crap!" I shouted, as I quickly stepped away from her before I quickly got into my stance with my kendo sword.

Ishikawa-san got off the wall to turn and face me, before she then slowly began to draw out her sword from her sheath. Once she drew her sword out from her sheath completely, she readied herself in a stance to strike, before she said, "Now, prepare to die."

With one quick motion, she moved to deliver a strike, before I quickly parried on time to deflect her strike, only to see that my sword was suddenly caught on fire.

"WHOO!" I screamed, as I threw the burning sword, before it could make contact with my hands, away at Ishikawa-san, who simply cut the sword in half.

I tried to figure out what caused it, before looked at Ishikawa-san's sword, and I saw that her blade was on fire, but the blade itself wasn't being burned from it. Oh, I see now. She must've enchanted a spell to make a fire sword! This is bad! My kendo swords won't work on her sword! I gotta think, what else can I use against this?!

"Is that the best you can do?" said Ishikawa-san, readying herself to strike, "Give it up now, and hand over the Command Seals, and I promise to make your death as painless as possible."

I gritted my teeth before I shouted with the determined face, "Never!"

"Then you leave me no choice." said Ishikawa-san, before she chanted in German, "Stahl ist stark. Die Klinge ist scharf. Feuer brennt alles (Steel is strong. The blade is sharp. Fire burns all)." Just as she chanted those words, the fire on her blade became much larger than before, and strange greenish-blue lines began to appear on the blade of her sword, before she shouted her final chant in German, "Verbrennt meine Feinde ... IN DIE TIEFE DER BRENNENDE HÖLLE (Burn down my enemies...INTO THE DEPTS OF BURNING HELL)!"

My eyes widened as she raised her sword above her head to strike, and just before she could land her first blow, I reacted quickly and dodged just in time before she could strike me down. I looked to see what damage she did, and to my shock, she created a burnt crater of her sword strike, so far and wide that it went all the way to the nearby tree, which was now caught on fire.

"Oh, man…!" I said, still shocked, "That was one ugly strike…!" I then quickly looked back to see that Ishikawa-san wasn't done yet, as she dismissed her fire from her blade while walking towards me.

"Stärke meine Klinge (Strengthen, my blade)." she chanted, as her sword began to glow with the strange greenish-blue lines from before.

"W-What is that…?" I said, as I got up from the ground, before pulling out another kendo sword.

"These lines that you see here are called Magic Circuits." Ishikawa-san explained, "They are a pseudo-nervous system that spreads itself through the human body and what qualifies a person to be a mage. Their normal functions are to act as paths that convert Life Force into magical energy, but human mages learned how to control it and use it to perform mysteries. They are that which connects the material world to the astral plane, the paths which connect to the foundations underlying Grand Rituals. They are the pipelines that converts magical energy and transmit that energy from the magus to the system."

"Wait…!" I said, "Does that mean…!"

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, "They are what stores our mana, and what helps us perform great feet of Magecraft, just as I have done."

She then went for a stabbing strike, aiming for my head, before I quickly blocked it. But, then I heard an instant break, and my kendo sword was broken into pieces. Seeing what she did shocked me, seeing as her sword had easily cut through my kendo sword.

"N-No way…!" I said, shocked, "W-What did you-?!"

"What I did was enhanced my blade." said Ishikawa-san, "I strengthened the blade to make it stronger, sharper, and much more powerful to cut through anything. In other words, my sword is powerful enough to kill you."

Still shocked from what happened, I stepped back, trying to gain some distance away from her as possible. I quickly looked inside my bag to see that I only had six more kendo swords left. It's still enough for me, but I'm still at a disadvantage. What do I do?

"Give it up." said Ishikawa-san, "It's over for you. You have no chance."

"No way!" I said, as I drew out two kendo swords, "I'm not running away! And I'm not giving up my Command Seals!"

"Do you honestly think you have a chance against us?" said Ishikawa-san, "You're out numbered and outclassed. You can hardly call yourself a fighter if you just stand around like a fool."

"Yes, Shindou-sama." I heard behind me, and I turned to see that Aimi had just arrived with her two machetes, "You should just give in and give us the Command Seals peacefully. Make it easy on yourself, and we may let you go."

Oh, great! I'm surrounded! Now what?!

Ishikawa-san and Aimi went into their stances, ready to strike me down where I stand. This not good!

"It's over." said Ishikawa-san, "You're finished."

"No!" I shouted, as I aimed both my swords on two sides, "I'm not giving up!"

"You'll die if you don't give in now." said Aimi, "Make it easy on yourself."

"I'm not giving up!" I shouted, "I'll never quit, even if it kills me!"

"This is your last chance!" said Ishikawa-san, readying to attack, "Give up, now!"

"Give in, Shindou-sama." said Aimi, also readying to attack, "Or perish."

I gritted my teeth in anger and gripped both my swords in both my hands tightly. No way…there is NO WAY in hell, I'm ever giving up! I…I have…I have…I have to…I have to live! I have to live…to protect Minna!

* * *

Flashback:

"I'll be your hero." I vowed to Minna that day, as the moon continued to shine down upon us in the night, "I'll become a hero who will protect you, Minna."

I smiled at Minna as I raised my pinkie finger and interlocked it with hers, tightened the lock of the pinkie promise, as I promised her, "Just leave it to me. Someday, you'll be in good hands! I promise, I'll do my best…to be your hero!"

Hearing me vow my promise to her, Minna smiled brightly as she nodded and said happily, "Yeah! I know you will!"

* * *

Now:

That's right! I made that promise to Minna! And I have to live so that I can protect her! I have to…keep living! I have to live…I…I…I…!

Everything went into slow motion, as Ishikawa-san and Aimi both charged up at me and were both about to strike me down.

No…I won't die here! I have…I have…I…! I HAVE TO FIGHT!

Then suddenly, something inside me shot up to me, as if some strange power was coming and surging into my own body, making me scream out in pain. I quickly looked at both my sides, as Aimi and Ishikawa-san were getting close. Whatever it is inside me, it's giving me power! If that's the case I…I…I HAVE TO USE IT TO FIGHT!

I screamed out loud, as I let this strange energy surge through me, as the strange lines, the same lines that I saw from Ishikawa-san, began to appear in my arms, before flowing through to go to my kendo swords. Then, with a final scream, I used this power to block both sides of attack.

* * *

Hiroko's POV:

Me and Aimi attacked him from both sides, before he suddenly blocked them. But, this…something was different about this block. And then, I saw the swords and his arms had…no way…Magic Circuits?!

"What?!" I shouted, shocked at what I was seeing. No way…that's…!

He then looked at us with an angry yet determined look, before he began screaming out in sheer fury, and then, with full and powerful force, he twisted and twirled around in circle, forcefully pushing us away.

We stood our ground as we were pushed away from him, before I looked up at him and said in complete shock, "…Impossible…!"

* * *

Aimi's POV:

I was pushed away at a distance before I looked at Shindou-sama and what was happening, and I was completely shocked and amazed at what I was seeing.

"No way…I...I don't…believe it…!" I thought, shocked, "Shindou-sama…he has unlocked…his Magic Circuits…!"

What I was seeing, it was utterly shocking to see what was happening to him, and amazing to see what Shindou-sama has accomplished. I just…couldn't help but look in awe from what I was seeing.

Could it mean that…Mirai Ojou-sama was right about him…?

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I didn't know what was going on, or what was happening to me right now. All I know is that…I was feeling both pain and numbness from both my arms, as if something had just happened seconds ago, and it…it somehow made me stronger all of a sudden. I looked to see what was going on, and, to my complete shock, my arms were…they were glowing…with those greenish-blue lines, just like the one from Ishikawa-san! And from my arms, the kendo swords were glowing with those lines as well!

"No way…!" I said, shocked, looking at my arms, "What's…happening…? Is this…my Magic Circuits?!"

Amazing…! So, this is what it looks like…!

I heard Ishikawa-san shouted, "Don't think you have the advantage, just because you've unlocked your Magic Circuits!"

I quickly turned to see that she was charging towards me, ready to strike me down, before I reacted quickly and blocked her. She then went for another quick strike at an incredible speed, but I somehow quickly blocked it with matching speed, and then suddenly I began blocking all of her attacks, matching her speed and power somehow. I don't know what's happening, or how I'm doing this, but this is incredible!

Suddenly, I was now on the offense, clashing against her sword with both of mine, until we stopped as we clashed and pushed our swords against each other.

"I-Impossible…!" Ishikawa-san gritted her teeth, as she tried to push harder against me, "H-How…how in the world did you get so strong all of the sudden?!"

"T-To be honest, I don't know!" I said, pushing just as hard as she was, "But I know this, there's no way…I'm gonna lose here, and DIE TODAY!"

As I gave out a powerful yell, and with a strong and powerful force, I pushed away Ishikawa-san, and then went for a strike. With a strong swing, I used one sword to knock her sword away, before I went with a quick speed for a straight strike into her stomach, making her gasped and coughed for air, before the incredible force of the strike instantly pushed and knocked her far away, all the way up to another building, breaking the walls she ran into, and knocking her out.

"W-Whoa…!" I said, stunned by what I just did, "Did I…really just do that?! I-Augh! Agh, my arms…! Ergh…!"

Suddenly, I was feeling pain in both my arms. It was…so painful…! Ugh, dammit! It must be because I'm not used to this feeling yet…! It's…causing my arms…to go…AAAAAHHH!

"It would seem that you're not used to the Magic Circuits, yet." I heard Aimi said, as she was walking towards me, readying her machetes, "Then, while you're still in pain, I can finish you off where you stand."

I turned around to face Aimi while still feeling the pain in both my arms, as she was slowly while surely approaching me while chanting in German, "Stahlhart. Blitzschnell. Scharf wie Schwerter. Alles ist strafbar durch Gott des Todes (Hard as steel. Swift as lightning. Sharp as swords. All is punishable by God of Death)!" Then, her machetes began to have glowing Magic Circuits, lines appearing onto the blades themselves as a sign that they were enhanced, as she said, "While I truly praise for your efforts, Shindou-sama, I'm afraid all of that has been in vain. You will now die here, and I will be taking away your Command Seals. Saber will be under our control now. That is…if you willfully surrender them now. If so, I may spare you."

While it was still painful form my arms, I chuckled and said, "Thanks, but…I'm not surrendering, nor am I dying here today…! Because death…is NOT MY TYPE!"

With a yell, I enhanced my swords again, as Magic Circuits began to glow from my arms into the swords again, before I charged at Aimi to attack her.

Aimi swiftly blocked my incoming attacks from both sides of my swords and warned, "Do not do this, Shindou-sama! If you keep doing this, you'll only end up straining yourself! Just give in now, before it's too late!"

"No way!" I shouted, "Never!"

I quickly stepped away from Aimi as far as possible, and…out of nowhere, suddenly, I knew how to fight. I went up and took a swing at Aimi with my sword in my left hand, aiming for her upper right side, before she quickly blocked it with her machete in her left arm and used her other arm to strike me, only for me to parry that with my sword in my right arm. I then stepped back again before quickly went for a straight strike with the sword on my right, but Aimi reacted in time and blocked it with both machetes, and I went with my other sword to strike her head, before she quickly dodged it and pushed my sword on my right side away, stepping back before she went to strike me next. We then began clashing our blades while moving within incredible speeds, trying to aim and hit one another while blocking and dodging from each other's attacks, but were on complete standstill. We kept on going and going until eventually, we clashed both our blades together, and stood where we were, pushing against each other's weapons, until I pushed hard enough for me to knock her two machetes up in the air, and then kicked her in the stomach with full force, pushing and knocking her down to the ground, before her machetes stabbed the ground, landing next to her.

Before Aimi could pick up her weapons, she looked up at me and saw that I had my kendo sword pointed at her face, before she sighed and asked with a sad smile, "Well, Shindou-sama, will you…finish me off here, just as we were going to do to you?"

I looked at her for a moment, while still pointing my sword at her, before I sighed and said, "No, I won't do that." I lowered my weapon and added, "Just because you were planning on killing me, doesn't mean I should kill you. I don't kill people, and I won't do that, just because it's the Holy Grail War, because it wouldn't be right…to kill another human being, even if they're mages. And…I know that you're all good and honest people, so you're not worth killing off. I won't do such things to you." I then smiled and joked, "And besides, it's not like I can kill you with these sticks! These things don't even stab people hard enough for them to die on!"

Aimi looked at me in surprise for a moment, before she giggled and said with a smile, "My, you're quite the joker, aren't you?"

"I just thought I'd lighten the mood, that's all." I said, "And besides, I'm not done yet. I'm sure Tsukuda-san's next to come after me. Anyway, you and Ishikawa-san can rest and take it easy, while I go deal with her next."

Aimi looked at me for a moment, before she smiled and said, "You truly are a kind person, Shindou-sama. Thank you."

"That's just who I am." I smiled back, before I took out my school blazer and gave it to her to cover herself and said, "I'll be going now."

Then, I turned around and leave to find Tsukuda-san, leaving Aimi and Ishikawa-san behind.

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I looked through the scope of my sniper as I had just witnessed the fight between the kid and our two friends, all the way until it's conclusion.

"Well, I'll be damned." I said, "I gotta say, I'm actually quite impressed. He actually beat them with flying colors. Heh. Who knew the kid had it in him?"

"Are you surprised?" Mirai asked, telepathically.

"Well, that's what I'd like to say," I said, "But, considering that you can predict what will happen, I guess I can't say I am."

I heard my Master chuckled before she asked, "So, Assassin, what do you think? Do you think he passes the test?"

"Well, if he can beat your blonde friend, then yeah, I'd say he passed on this one." I said, "Besides, it's like you said about him, the kid's got potential, even for a normal guy."

"Yes, he most certainly does." said Mirai, telepathically, "And, no doubt, if he joins us, and within just a month or so, he will become a fine strong man, and a powerful mage like us. With him on our side, we'll have a high chance of winning the Holy Grail War."

"Hmph." I smirked, "I hope so, as well, Master."

I looked at my scope again and thought, "Still, can he really pull things off without having the need to kill anyone? That could be the problem…even for him."

Suddenly, I saw something quickly moved passed my sight of my scope, as if something suddenly moved, alerting me.

"Huh?!" I said, alerted, "What was that?!"

"Hmm?" said Mirai, telepathically, confused, "What was what? Assassin, what is it? What's wrong?"

I looked at my scope again to make sure what I was seeing was right, before I said, "Hmmm…I thought I saw something. It was…faint, but I thought I saw what looked like a bug."

"A bug?" said Mirai, telepathically, confused.

"Yeah." I said, glaring through my scope, "And it didn't look like any other bug. I don't like where this is going."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I threw away my two kendo swords since they were now in cuts and worn out from the fight, while I walked around holding onto my arms that were in complete pain and numbness. Damn, Aimi was right…I'm gonna keep straining myself if I keep up with this! But…I can't give up now! There's still Tsukuda-san left, and she's here somewhere, I can feel it!

I went to my bag to look and see inside, and saw that I only had four left, less than what I originally had before from the beginning. Well, it's still enough, but I gotta be careful on saving them. Who knows what might come next for me.

Suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me from above and behind, and I turned around looked up, and immediately, I saw Tsukuda-san at the rooftop, watching me from the fence with a serious expression. She then began moving her mouth as if chanting something, before she pulls out her handgun and aimed straight at me, and then, with a final chant, she pulled the trigger and fired her shot.

Eyes widened, as the bullet she fired was actually as big as a basketball, I quickly drew out one kendo sword and shouted, "ENHANCE!"

With my enhanced sword, I swung and hit the blast out of defense, before the blast exploded in contact, destroying my sword in the process, and sending me flying until I landed on the ground away from where I once stood. After that, I slowly moved while struggling to get up, before I finally got myself on my feet.

I looked at my damaged kendo sword, that was now only a handle with the top burnt, and I cursed, "Shit…!"

I quickly threw it away before I drew out two more and I said, "Enhance!" With that, Magic Circuits appeared on two of my swords, hinting that gave them enhancement, and I readied myself.

Then suddenly, a cable pole appeared out of nowhere, and it was falling towards me with electrical wires. I panicked and quickly dodged the falling cable pole before preparing to face the wires that were being lashed out like whips.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" I shouted, before I quickly blocked the incoming cable wire. The hit from those lashing out cable wires were sending out surge of electrocution, sending out shocks towards me through my swords. But despite that, I held on as much as I could, before I swung at the incoming wire, hitting it and knocking it away, before more came lashing out and I had to defend, only for me to be knocked back and I landed on the ground. I turned to see that the electrical wires were still lashing out like crazy.

"This is bad…!" I said, "I got to-Gaugh!"

Suddenly, I was hit and splashed by a water balloon that suddenly came out of nowhere, before more appeared and started splashing everywhere, landing onto the cable wires that were on the ground as it was creating more electricity.

"Wait…!" I thought, as I recognized the feeling of this water and sudden taste of it, "Is this…salt water?! That conducts electricity way more easily than before!" I then saw more water balloons aiming at me, before I quickly ran, away from the salt water balloons that had landed on the cables, creating more electricity, while fighting my way through the lashing out cable wires.

Dammit, I gotta do something! But, what?! C'mon, think!

I then stopped for a minute as I saw what looked like the power source for those electrical cables on the cable pole. Then, an idea hit me, before I looked at my two kendo swords and thought, "Well, it's now or never!"

As I brought both my arms back to throw my two swords, I screamed out, "HERE GOES NOTHING!" And with all my strength, I threw both my kendo swords real hard, aiming towards the source of the electricity. Then, the two swords stabbed the source, before it exploded, putting an end to the electricity power, and stopping the cable wires from lashing out as they lost power and laid down on the ground.

I sighed of relief, glad that it was over, before I winched at the pain in both my arms. Damn…I might've thrown too hard! Since I was still hurting, I went off running to find some place where I could hide and rest.

* * *

I ran inside the building of the school before I quickly went inside my classroom and stopped as I rest my back against the wall, panting while trying to get some air in from running, before I quickly looked into my bag to see that…oh, man. I only had one kendo sword left. With that, I threw my bag away and held onto my last sword, resting while readying myself to fight again. My arms still hurt, but…I'll try to manage.

Suddenly, I felt someone was here, and I quickly got up and pointed my sword at someone, and sure enough, that person who was here was none other than Tsukuda-san, who was pointing her gun at me as I was pointing my sword at her. We stood where we were, our weapons pointed at one another, without one or the other moving an inch of our bodies.

She smirked and said, "End of the line for you."

"No…" I panted, "It's not over for me…"

We then began walking to the side, before moving around in circles, weapons still pointed at each other, before she said, "Are you sure about that? With just one push of a trigger, I could easily finish you with just one shot."

"Not if I could get to you first." I said, "With just one swing, I could knock your weapon away and then knock you out quickly, then I'll win."

"Don't be stupid." Tsukuda-san smirked, "I still have one more handgun on me, so even if you knock my gun away from my hand, I could quickly pull out my other one and finish you."

I gritted my teeth after hearing say that. Dammit, I'm at a disadvantage! But…there's no way I…

"C'mon." she smirked, "You of all people know better than anyone how powerful mages like us truly are. So, why don't you just give up the fight and die already?"

"No way." I said, "Because that's the one thing I'll never do. I have to fight for me to live for someone. So, I'll keep on fighting, even to my last breath, and even if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

"Hmph." said Tsukuda-san, "Then, I guess this is over."

I could tell what she was about to do, but I didn't close my eyes and wait for the inevitable. Instead, I kept my eyes opened, and looked at her with a determined look on my face, to show her that I'll face what she'll give me. Then, she pulled the trigger. But…to my confusion, all I heard was a click.

Wait…a click?

Tsukuda-san smirked, before she unloaded her magazine, which to my surprise, was actually empty, as she then reloaded her gun with bullets, and then twirling her gun a bit before putting her gun away into her holster and said, "You've passed the test."

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "T-Test? What're you talking about?"

"Exactly what I mean," said Tsukuda-san, "We were testing you, to see if you were truly worthy of fighting in the Grail War and being Saber's Master."

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, as she appeared from the corner, "What we did was to see how strong your will to fight and to live was. In other words, while you were indeed fight us, you were however, fighting for your life."

"And you've proven that your will to fight and to live, was truly strong and admirable." said Aimi, as she came over from the door, before she went to my arms and said, "Allow me to check your arms. You've been straining yourself, so I shall be healing them for you."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said, as I allowed Aimi to treat my arms.

Aimi placed her hands on my right arm and began chanting in German, "Heile alle Schmerzen. Stoppen Sie alle Belastungen. Heile alles, was Schmerzen und Beschwerden bringt (Heal all pain. Cease all strains. Cure all that brings hurt and discomforts)." And her hands began to glow as a strange, yet soothing energy was flowing from her to me, before she said her final chant, "Stelle alles wieder her, was gebrochen ist, meine Götter der Heilung (Restore all that has broken, my Gods of Healing)." After that, her hands stopped glowing as she asked, "How's your right arm now, good sir? You should be able to move it without restraints now."

I checked my right arm for a minute, and surprisingly and sure enough, my right arm can finally move without problem, as I said, amazed, "Whoa…that's amazing!" I then looked at Aimi and said, "Yeah, no problem at all, thank you. How'd you do that?"

"I am an excellent healer, Shindou-sama." Aimi smiled, "It's one of my natural strong talents as a mage. Now, I shall do the same for the other."

"Ah, okay." I said, "Thank."

Aimi nodded with a smile before going for my other arm.

I looked at Tsukuda-san as she said, "Just so you know, now that you've passed the test, we've decided not to kill you."

"R-Really?" I asked.

"You've managed to defeat Hiroko and Aimi and managed to escape me and dodge my trap I set up for you." said Tsukuda-san, "And you managed to unlock your Magic Circuits in just one day of fighting against us. I guess that makes you special."

"I only managed to escape because the coaches were there." I said, "And I only managed to unlock my Magic Circuits because of my thoughts of Minna."

"True." she nodded to that, "But I think that's your hidden talent, though. I think you were born fairly under a lucky star, so I think your luck is fairly good. Not exactly super lucky, but at least carefully lucky enough for you to survive. And that means, you have something we need."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We want you and Saber to join forces with us." Tsukuda-san answered, "Join us, and we'll make a perfect team."

"Huh?" I said, before I realized what she meant and asked, "You mean you want me to team up with you guys, after what you did to try to kill me? Whose idea was it?"

"Lady Mirai's orders." Aimi answered, after she was done healing, "To test you to see if you're worth having to join forces with us, and to see if you're worth fighting alongside with."

"I see." I said, "And if I failed, you'd kill me."

"Correct." said Ishikawa-san, "We needed to make sure if you were truly worth being a Master or not. And, to your luck, you were worth it. Otherwise, we would've killed you and taken Saber away."

"Besides, we needed an extra partner." Tsukuda-san smiled, "Oh, and by the way, if you choose not to accept our invitation of joining forces with us, the other Masters and Servants will come after you and take you. Who knows, they may even come after your love of your life. Minna, was it?"

I gasped as she mentioned that, and the thought of Minna being kidnapped by them came into me. Just…the thought of it made me…I'm scared for her life.

"Well?" said Tsukuda-san, "Is that what you want? What choice do you have? You can't get away from them by yourself unless you and Saber fight."

I hesitated to speak for a moment, before I looked up and said, "I'll find a way. If that happens, I'll protect Minna, even if I have to do it by myself without Saber. So, no, I don't need your help, and I won't accept your alliance."

"Is that so?" said Tsukuda-san, "Well, you're even more stubborn than I thought you'd be."

"Sorry, but I can't trust you guys." I said, "Especially not after what you tried to do. Besides, I have to protect Minna by myself, because I made a promise to her that I would."

"Hmph." said Tsukuda-san, as she began to leave to the door, "Fine, suit yourself. Try it for yourself and see what happens." She then opened the door and said while she exited the door, "Then you'll be sorry."

Ishikawa-san sighed and said, "How disappointing. And here I thought you would be useful to us for our cause, but you're just a complete sentimental fool." She then went out to follow Tsukuda-san and said while exiting, "You'll regret making that decision."

Aimi handed me back my blazer that I gave her as she said with a smile, "Please, do not let it get to you, Shindou-sama. Unlike those two, I fully and wholeheartedly understand your reasoning and I respect your decision. I assure you, that I accept your answer, and I'm sure that they will as well." Aimi then bowed to me before she went to the door and said with a smile as she exited, "Fare thee well, Shindou-sama. I do pray that you'll succeed within the Holy Grail War."

Then, they were gone from my sight, leaving me alone in the classroom. As soon as they were gone, I sighed in relief, relieved that it was all over. Or…so I thought. I suddenly began to hear fast footsteps as it was getting closer back. Huh. I wonder who-?

The door slammed opened as Tsukuda-san quickly broken in and pointed her gun at me as she shouted as if panicking, "I CAN'T DO THIS! I CHANGE MY MIND! I AM COMPLETELY OUT OF LUCK! I HAVE TERRIBLE LUCK! I HAVE THE WORST LUCK OF ANYONE WHOEVER LIVED IN THIS ENTIRE WORLD!" She then pointed further as she shouted, "IN FACT, I NEED A GOOD LUCK CHARM!"

"W-WHAT?!" I shouted, stepping back. I looked at outside the door to see that Aimi was making gestures as if apologizing, as if saying she can't help me on this one, while Ishikawa-san just stood there with her arms crossed while shaking her head, as if this wasn't the first time this was happening.

"YOU WILL BE OUR PARTNER NOW!" Tsukuda-san shouted, "OR I'LL KILL YOU! THIS INSTANT! WITH THIS GUN! JOIN US NOW! OR I'LL KILL YOU! THIS INSTANT! WITH THIS GUUUN!"

"U-U-Uh…hold on…!" I stammered, "Um…uh…um…!"

We stood where we were for a moment, as we stared at each other while she was still pointing her gun at me, and I gave out a nervous smile, trying to think of what I should say, before she pulled the trigger and fired, but it wasn't at me, it was at something else, as I heard something being hit.

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, as I turned around to see what it was, only to see that she shot…a bug, that looks like a pocket watch? And it's ticking? Now I was more confused as I said, "A…bug?"

"GET AWAY, NOW!" Tsukuda-san shouted, as she grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me, "WE HAVE TO MOVE!"

"Huh?!" I said, confused, as I was being pulled away, "Why?! It's just a…!"

"IT'S NOT A BUG, YOU IDIOT!" she shouted, "IT'S A BOMB!"

"H-HUH?!" I said, shocked from what she said.

"MOVE, NOW!" Tsukuda-san shouted, pulling me and making run with her and her friends, before the bomb inside came off and exploded, destroying the classroom before it could get to us.

We began running as I shouted, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! WHO PUTTED BOMBS IN THAT?!"

"IT'S NO ORDINARY BOMB!" Tsukuda-shouted, while running, "IT'S A NOBLE PHANTASM!"

"A what?!" I shouted.

"The "crystallized mysteries"!" Aimi explained, while running, "They are powerful armaments made using the imagination of humans as their core, and weapons or abilities owned by Heroic Spirits! They are the embodiment of the ultimate mysteries of a hero that symbolizes one's existence through historical facts and anecdotes! They can be physical weapons, such as swords, lances, and bows, or support items, such as rings and crowns! They can also be abstract concepts, like unique abilities, unique means of attacks, curses, and changes to the environment and its physical properties! When summoned as Servants in the Holy Grail War, they are the trump cards of the heroes that allow them to overcome others in battle!"

"In other words, they are the Servants' secret weapons when used in battle!" said Ishikawa-san, while running, "And if that little bomb was a Noble Phantasm, then that would mean that…!"

"A Servant is here?!" I shouted, shocked, "But, why now?!"

"I don't know!" said Tsukuda-san, "But we can't stay here! Fighting in this building will only give us the disadvantage! We need to take this outside!"

Ugh, dammit…! I guess, there's no choice!

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I suddenly heard and then saw the explosion that came from the school building. What in the world was that?!

"Assassin, what is it?!" Mirai shouted, telepathically, "What's going on?! What happening?!"

I looked into my scope and saw a strange figure appearing in material form, before I said, "Master, hate to say this, but I think we may have a problem!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We quickly ran outside of the building as fast as we could, before stopping to catch our breath. Tsukuda-san then grabbed my arms and said, "We don't have time to stop, we have to move, now!"

"Huh?!" I said.

"C'mon!" she shouted, as she pulled me, "Hurry!"

We then began running again, as we were running towards the school entrance to exit out of here. We were almost there until suddenly, there were explosions, and it stopped us from going any further.

"Dammit!" Tsukuda-san cursed, before drawing out two of her handguns.

"Shindou-sama, please stay behind me!" said Aimi, as she moved to get behind her before drawing out her two machetes.

We then heard a loud laughter, like a clown was laughing, before we turned to see where it came from and saw…a FREAKIN' CLOWN?!

The one standing before us was a clown with a freaky smiling face like any clowns, white pale skin, purple/blue eyes, purple long hair that is curled up, and stands about 6"2' tall, although the way he was standing was more like he was crouching. He was wearing a strange red hat with blue on top that had a strange decoration with a clock in the middle, and wore clothes that consisted of a red shirt with gold trimming that barely shows his chest with blue sleeve that covered both his entire arms with the end of the hand covered in red, light blue short pants with matching gold trimming at the bottom of two sides, checkered socks that consisted of light purple and dark purple, high heeled shoes that were purple with gold trimmings and red on top and with light blue fur around the angles, purple fur, with light blue on under it, that was worn as a cape, and in his hand was…a giant scissor?!

He was looking at us snickering before laughing out loud.

"You're kidding me?!" I flabbergasted, "A FREAKIN' CLOWN?!"

"It's no ordinary clown!" said Ishikawa-san, as she drew out her sword, "It's a Caster-Class Servant!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the clown, now named Caster, laughed out loud and said with a creepy smiling face, "Well, look what we have here! Three little girls, and one Master! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is gonna be FUN! FUUUUUN I TELL YOU! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Oh, man! I hate clown! And this is NOT gonna end well!

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	9. Chapter 3

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Me, Tsukuda-san, Ishikawa-san, and Aimi were standing right where we were as the enemy Servant, Caster, was standing, or rather crouching, right in front of us, with that creepy smile on his face, as if he looked like a clown from a horror movie wanting to scare people. The girls were armed and ready to fight while I was behind them. However, neither of them had made the first move yet. In case I needed to help, I prepared my weapon to fight as well.

Our enemy, Caster, giggled as he said with a creepy grin, "Well, well, well, well. Now, WHAT do we have here? Three little girls and one Master? Ooh, what fun! Ahahahaha!"

I looked at them for a minute, but neither of them moved an inch, and I began to worry.

"Uh…guys…" I said, "I think we-"

"No, don't!" said Aimi, as she raised her arm to stop me, before shaking her head no, signaling me to stay where I am, before looking back at the clown Servant in front of us.

"Be careful." said Tsukuda-san, readying her guns, "We have no idea what this clown Caster is capable of."

"Clown?!" said Caster, eyes widened, before he laughed out loud, as if what she said about him was funny, before he said with a wide smile while getting up from crouching, "Oh, my, dear, little, friend…I'm not just ANY sort of clown…!"

As he was getting up, we slowly but suddenly saw that behind his lower back, he had…wait, is that…are those…tails? Three of them? And they're colored in purple? Who is this guy? He's like-

"A demon!" Aimi shouted.

Without hesitating, Tsukuda-san quickly fired her guns at Caster, but Caster jumped and dodged the incoming bullet attack before landing on a tree and said while mockingly laughing, "AHAHAHAHAHA! You missed me!"

Tsukuda-san fired her gun again at Caster, but he quickly jumped up and dodged again before landing far behind us and said while mockingly laughing again, "HAHAHAHAHA! You missed me again!"

"Goddammit!" Tsukuda-san cursed, as she kept firing at Caster, trying to hit him only for to fail as he kept dodging every single shot that she made, trying to hit him, "Aimi, back me up here!"

"Right!" said Aimi, as she drew out her throwing knives from her straps and began throwing them at Caster.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they either shoot or throw knives at him, Caster was still moving around and dodging, even going in strangest poses while doing so. This was getting us nowhere with this creepy guy.

"Dammit, how's he doing this?!" Tsukuda-san shouted, while still trying to shoot him down.

"I don't know!" said Aimi, while she kept throwing her knives at him, "But, we can't keep doing this! If we keep this up, we'll run out and become sitting ducks! We need to-!"

"LOOK OUT!" I yelled, as I saw Caster dashing forward with a maniacal smile, opening and aiming his scissor at Aimi, before I quickly rushed in and quickly intercepted his attack.

"SHINDU-SAMA!" Aimi shouted, shocked to see what was happening and what I quickly did, "Y-You saved me!"

"Stay back!" I shouted to them, before I quickly turned back, gritted my teeth, and then I yelled as I tried to push Caster's giant scissor away from them, while Caster was laughing out loud like a maniac.

"What's the matter, Little Master?!" Caster laughed, maniacally, "Is that the best you got?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shut…your damn…mouth…you damn…dirty clown…!" I shouted, while struggling to push.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed, "I'm gonna chop you up until you drop, little boy! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Huh?!" I shouted, "The hell do you-?!"

"WATCH OUT!" Aimi shouted, before she grabbed the back of my shirt and quickly pulled me away, just when Caster was about use his scissor to cut me, only for him to cut my weapon in half instead. Whoa, shit! That was a close one!

I turned to Aimi and said, "Thanks for the save."

"Just returning the favor, Shindou-sama!" Aimi smiled, before she turned to Caster with a serious look, and then drew out her machetes.

We looked to see Caster as he was…licking his own scissor…with his fucking tongue?! I became disgusted by that as I said with a disgusted look, "Oh, fuck no!"

I then felt something metal, and I turned to see that there was a metal rod. It was long, about half of my size.

"Oh, good!" I said to myself, "I think I can use that as a weapon."

With that, I quickly picked up the metal rod before using my Magic Circuits to enhance it, before I got myself back up and got into a stance. I looked around to see that Tsukuda-san, Ishikawa-san, and Aimi were ready to fight as well, as they each got into their stances.

Tsukuda-san gave me a glance before looking back at Caster and said to me, "You don't have to fight with us! Just find a place to hide and let us handle this!"

"No way!" I said, "I'm not gonna run and let you girls handle this! Let me at least help out!"

"Look, we appreciate your concern, but we can't protect you while we fight!" said Ishikawa-san, "You'll only just get in the way!"

"Don't worry about us!" said Aimi, "Just worry about your safety!"

"W-Well…" I said, hesitating, "B-B-But, I-"

Suddenly, I heard some ticking noise, before I looked down and, with my eyes wide opened, I saw that there were those bug-like bombs on the ground where we were standing, before I quick moved and shouted, "WATCH OUT!"

I quickly pushed them away to the side and quickly covered them before the bombs behind us exploded, causing rubbles and dirt flying around us. I looked to see that Caster was laughing, as if seeing what would've happened to us appeared to be funny.

I gritted my teeth in anger, before I growled, "Why…YOU…!"

With a yell of sheer anger, I got myself up and quickly dashed myself towards Caster, before I raised my metal rod up to strike him from above. As I landed that strike, Caster quickly blocked it, and we struggled against our weapons, with Caster giving out a creepy and laughable smile, while I was giving out an angered look as I kept trying to push my weapon to hit him.

"Is that the best you can do, little boy?!" he mockingly laughed at me, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"BASTARD!" I yelled, angrily, "I'M GETTING SICK OF YOUR FACE, I'M GETTING SICK OF YOUR LAUGHING, AND I'M GETTING SICK OF YOUR DIRTY TRICKS! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU DAMN FUCKING CLOWN!"

"Kill me?!" Caster laughed, "AHAHAHAHAHA! Boy, you can't kill me! I'm super stronger than you!"

"WELL, WE'LL JUST SEE ABOUT THAT, WON'T WE?!" I yelled, angrily, as I pushed my weapon further towards him.

"Oh, don't get mad!" he laughed, "How about a little present to cheer you up! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What?!" I said, confused, before I felt someone quickly pulled me back, and then there was a sudden explosion on the spot where I once was, before I was thrown, and I landed on my butt.

"Ow!" I shouted, in pain, before I looked up to the one who pulled me, Ishikawa-san, and I shouted, "Why'd you do that for?! I had him!"

"Don't be so stupid!" Ishikawa-san shouted back, "You can't kill a Servant the way you are! Only a Servant is capable of killing another Servant!"

"W-What?!" I shouted, shocked.

"She's right!" said Aimi, as she came to heal me a bit, "The only way for us to defeat Caster is if we have another Servant on our side! No matter how many times we try, even with our Magecraft, we can't kill him! All we can do is distract him!"

"No way!" I said, shocked, "So there's nothing we can do right now?!"

"Unfortunately, no!" said Aimi, "Even if we knew what to do, our efforts would be futile to Servants like Caster! Casters are very efficient with Magecraft like us mages, but theirs are much more powerful!"

"So then, we're sitting duck?!" I asked.

We then saw another bomb, and we quickly got away from it before it exploded.

"Dammit, this is getting ridiculous!" Ishikawa-san cursed, "We're getting nowhere with this!"

"Our swords and ammunitions aren't working against Caster, even with enhanced Magecraft!" Tsukuda-san shouted, before shooting more bullets, "At this rate, we'll run out of ammos and knives, and we won't be able to defend ourselves!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster mockingly laughed, "Is that the best you kiddies can do?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"God, I hate it when he laughs!" Tsukuda-san shouted, before shooting again, "It's starting to piss me off!"

"Just who in the world is this Servant?!" Ishikawa-san shouted, before blocking Caster's scissor attack and then quickly pushed him away.

Aimi finished healing me before she said to me, "Shindou-sama, we need a Servant on our side, right now! We need Saber! Please, good sir, call Saber here to help us!"

"C-Call Saber here?!" I said, confused, "Wait, how do-?!"

I then stopped for a moment, as I quickly remembered what Saber said to me before.

* * *

Flashback: before…

"Master," said Saber, "Before I forget, I should let you know that if anything happens such as a Master or Servant attacking you, you should call upon me via the Command Seals. That way, I should be able to teleport to you to your aid without having to suffer any single problem."

"So, call you in case of an emergency…" I said, with a tired smile, "Got it, I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Now:

Oh, that's right! My Command Seals! I can use my Command Seals to call Saber here! If I get Saber here, we'll have the advantage!

I looked up and saw that Ishikawa-san and Tsukuda-san were pushing Caster back before jumping away as bombs exploded where they came from and landed in front of us while still facing forward.

"Shindou-sama, hurry!" said Aimi, "There's not much time! Just say "by my Command Seal" and then say the commands to bring Saber here! We need Saber, now!"

"Don't just stand there like an idiot!" Tsukuda-san shouted, before firing her guns, "Hurry!"

"Uh, right!" I said, as I hurriedly removed my bandages on my left arm to reveal my Command Seals, before looking at them a bit and said, "Here goes!" Guess it's now or never!

I raised my left hand and shouted, "By my Command Seal-!"

"Uh-uh-uh!" said Caster, making me stop what I was doing, and I looked at him, "I wouldn't try doing that if I were you! See, while you little kiddies were busy playing and weren't looking, I placed a little bomb on that cutesy little silver girly's back! And the moment you use those seals to make Saber leave her side and out of her little sight, I'll ca-click on my bomb and it'll "KA-BOOM!" and it's bye-bye to your little friend! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I gasped before I shouted in shock, "WHAT?!"

No…no…then, that means that…oh god, no…Minna…! If I…if I bring Saber…she'll die…!

I wasn't looking as the thought and dread of what would happen was coming over me, but I could feel that the three were just as shocked as I was, and I could feel the worried gaze from Aimi as she looked at me and said worriedly, "Shindou-sama…!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed out loud, "Looks like you kiddies are in BIIIIIG trouble now! You can't bring Saber here, and ALL of you are gonna die! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Dammit!" Tsukuda-san cursed, as she reloaded her guns, "Why didn't we see it sooner?!"

"I don't know!" Ishikawa-san growled, "The only answer I can think of how he did it is either by spiritual form or his Master did for him at some point! Either way, that is a cowardice act that he's ever pulled!"

"Dammit!" Tsukuda-san cursed, "Now what?!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed out loud, "Well, what're ya gonna do now, little kiddies?! You can't kill me, and you can't bring Saber to help you! You're all gonna die here unless you have a Servant to fight with you! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"RRRRRAAAAGGGHH!" Tsukuda-san screamed in rage, as she began firing at Caster again, with Ishikawa-san charging in with her sword, while I stood where I was, as my thoughts were about…what would happen to Minna.

No…what do I do…? What on earth do I do…? If I…if I use my Command Seals…and bring Saber…he'll kill her…! He'll kill Minna…! But…if I...if I don't do it…he'll…and we'll…we'll…! No…I…I have…I have to…!

I tried to get up on my feet and try to move myself, to try to stand and move myself to the school gates. I have to go to Minna! I have to go save her!

"SHINDOU-SAMA, DON'T!" I heard Aimi shouted, before she quickly grabbed me and then quickly moved us away before an explosion was made where we once stood. Before I could even get up and move again, Aimi quickly pinned me down on the ground while holding onto my body, locking herself onto me to stop me from moving.

"NOOO!" I screamed, as I struggled to try to break free from her holding me, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO, DAMMIT! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO GO SAVE MINNA! SHE'S IN DANGER! LET ME GO! DAMMIT, AIMI, LET ME GO!"

"SHNDOU-SAMA, NO!" Aimi shouted, while she continued to hold onto me, never letting go of her grip on me, even as I struggled, "SHINDOU-SAMA, LISTEN TO ME! I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU CAN'T JUST SIMPLY GO OUT THERE WITH CASTER HERE! IF YOU TRY TO LEAVE, HE'LL END UP KILLING YOU WITH THAT NOBLE PHANTASM OF HIS!"

"LET GO OF ME!" I screamed, struggling even more, "LET GO OF ME, DAMMIT! LET ME GO, NOW! PLEASE, IF I DON'T GO TO MINNA IN TIME, HE'LL KILL HER! HE'LL TAKE AWAY HER LIFE!"

"I KNOW THAT!" Aimi shouted, holding onto me tighter, "BUT IF YOU TRY TO GO NOW, HE'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR LIFE BEFORE HE TAKES HERS! AND IF YOU DIE, SABER DIES AS WELL, REMEMBER?!"

"I DON'T CARE, DAMMIT!" I screamed, "I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME, I HAVE TO SAVE HER! SHE'LL DIE IF I DON'T GO TO HER NOW!"

I managed to break free, but Aimi quickly grabbed both my arms and pinned me down to the ground again, before she shouted at me, "NO, DO NOT DO THIS, SHINDOU-SAMA! DON'T GO AND TRY TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF! IF YOU END UP GETTING KILLED IN THIS HOLY GRAIL WAR NOW, THEN YOUR SACRIFICE WILL BE FOR NOTHING! AND EVEN IF HE DIDN'T KILL HER WITH THE BOMB ON HER BACK, IF YOU DIE HERE WITHOUT EVER ACHIEVING ANYTHING, EVEN WORSE, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER EYES, SHE'LL BECOME SADDEN—NO, WORST THAN THAT—SHE'LL DESPAIR OVER YOUR DEATH, FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE! SHE'LL LIVE ONLY IN PURE SADNESS AND MISERY, SEEING THAT THE MAN SHE LOVES HAD DIED! IF YOU DIE, SHE'LL LIVE IN SADNESS AND LONELINESS FOREVER!"

I stopped struggling and gasped in realization, as I took in all the words that she said to me, and…I thought it over what Aimi said to me. She…she was right. I…I can't die…I can't just…go out there irrationally and then…die. If I die trying to save her, then…and even with what I have, it's…it's not enough…to protect her. if I die…if I die then…then she'll…Minna will…she'll…I…I-I don't…I don't want that…I…

"Shindou-sama!" said Aimi, with a serious expression, "Is that really what you want?! Do you want that to happen?! To sacrifice yourself for nothing?! Do you truly believe it's what your Minna would want?! For her to live is sadness and loneliness without you?!"

"N-NO!" I shouted, before I began to cry, "No, it's not! I…I don't…I don't want that! I don't want to make Minna cry, and…I don't want her to feel any pain or sadness! But, I…I just…I just can't…I don't…I don't know what to do…! I want…to protect her! But I…I don't know how! I don't know…what I'm supposed to do! I…I don't-!"

Aimi quickly let go of my hands before she brought me to her embrace, as she said to me reassuringly, "It's okay, Shindou-sama! It's why we're here! We're here to help you! If you join us and fight by our side, we can help you! We'll help you protect her, just please let us help you!"

"W-What?!" I said, shocked, "B-But…but, I…I-!"

"It's okay, Shindou-sama!" said Aimi, "Just let us try to help you! You can trust us!"

"T-Trust you…?" I said, "And…you'll…help me…?"

Aimi looked at me and said, "It's not too late! You can join us now, and we can fight together in the Grail War! And I promise, we'll protect your Minna with you, and we'll keep her safe for you! So, please, Shindou-sama, just trust us!"

I looked at Aimi, eyes widened from what she said to me, to trust them. I looked into both her deep blue eyes, and…I could see that in her eyes, she was telling me the truth. It was say that…she—no, they would help me protect Minna and keep her safe. Her eyes…showed nothing but truth. I then took a glance at Tsukuda-san and Ishikawa-san holding off Caster as much as they could, and though what they were doing wasn't getting them anywhere because of Caster moving around while laughing out loud and the bombs that were set by him were exploding randomly wherever they go, their actions where showing that they would not give up and keep fighting to protect, not just me, but people who may get caught in this war as well. I then looked back at Aimi and looked into her eyes again, but the truth in her eyes didn't falter.

Aimi then smiled gently and said, "You can trust us!"

I remained quiet for a moment, before I asked, "You're all willing…to sacrifice yourselves…for me and Minna?"

"Shindou-sama," Aimi answered, "I would truly sacrifice myself for anyone who I hold dear, even you, good sir, not just Mirai Ojou-sama, because it is my duty, not just as a maid, but as a mage. In fact, we all would. And if I was ordered to die for them, then I would."

I looked at Aimi eyes widened again, stunned by what she said about her and her friends. I then began to think for a moment, before I decided what I should do. I looked at Aimi with determination and said, "Alright, if it means you'll keep Minna safe…then I'm with you!"

Aimi smiled before she nodded and said, "Thank you, Shindou-sama!"

We then got up on our feet before turning to face Caster, as Tsukuda-san and Ishikawa-san were pushed back to our sides, before readying themselves to fight again. I looked at Aimi who nodded with a smile before we readied ourselves to fight as well.

"DAMMIT!" Tsukuda-san shouted, as she reloaded her guns, "If we don't have a Servant on our side right now, things could get bad for all of us!"

"What do we do?!" Aimi asked.

"I don't know!" said Ishikawa-san, "But if we don't think of something now, we'll be finished! And Yuzuru can't bring Saber here via Command Seals either! If we do so, the girl dies! And we can't escape through the front gates either, because those bombs are likely going to be there! If we tried to escape now, those bombs will activate, and we'll all die!"

"Well, we need to do something now, and fast!" Tsukuda-san shouted, "If we don't do something fast, we'll all die here, whether by this creep or those bombs!"

Dammit…! They're right…! If we don't act now, we're dead! But…I…I can't call Saber by my Command Seals! If I do, then Minna will…!

Caster looked at us with a creepy crooked smile and said with laughing, "So then, which will you choose, Saber's Master?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Dammit…! We have to do something…! But, what can we do?!

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I remained hidden within the shadows as I watched from within the top of the trees with the scope of my sniper to see that things were not looking very good, as I not only just watched their fight, but also heard what Caster said about placing a bomb on the kid's lady friend. Dammit, why did I not see that sooner?!

"This isn't good!" I said to my Master, "Despite his appearance and the way he acts, Caster seems serious about what he said! He plans to kill the girl by activating one of his damn bombs that he placed on her, should the kid call upon his Saber via Command Seals! And the kid can't risk killing his lady friend if he uses his Command Seals! They're sitting ducks at this point!"

"Yes, I can already see that happening." said Mirai, telepathically, "What Caster will do is no joke. He'll kill her if Yuzuru calls Saber. This is bad. I didn't anticipate that a Servant would be here to attack them, even in the middle of the evening when it's not even nighttime yet. What in the world is that damn Servant thinking?!"

"I don't know." I said, "But, I can at least say one thing, it's either the work of a Master, or he's doing this out of his own free will. Either way, if Caster isn't stopped, our friends are doomed, and they can't defeat Caster unless another Servant is at their side."

"I know…" said Mirai, telepathically, "We need to act quickly, and save our friends and the girl before Caster can kill her…"

"Well," I said, "It's your decision, my Master. What do we do?"

* * *

Mirai's POV:

In my mansion, I was sitting on a couch of my grandfather's study room while I used my Mystic Eyes to foresee what we should do in the situation the others were in.

Through my eyes, I looked and saw the obvious scenarios. Firstly, if Yuzuru uses his Command Seals to call upon Saber, and if Saber leaves that girl's side, Caster will obviously use his bomb and kill her right on the spot. Secondly, if Yuzuru tries to get out of the battlefield through the school gates, all the bombs trapped there will be activated, killing him, Saber disappears, and the girl dies. Well, even if Yuzuru did manage to survive the explosion, he'd still be too late as he wouldn't be able to make it to them in time. However, if they remain where they are until their energies runs out, they'll all die here, and Caster will kill the girl with his bomb.

I then to foresee the solutions to prevent this. Through my eyes, I saw the solution as how to stop this. If Yuzuru uses his pact with Saber to communicate with her, and if his thoughts reach to Saber in time, then most likely she'll be able to stop the bomb and be able to save the girl in time before it can explode. That could work. However, the problem is Caster himself. As long as Caster's around, even if Yuzuru does try to communicate with Saber telepathically, he'll try to distract him any the others via his Noble Phantasm, or worse, he'll kill Minna before Saber could even get to her in time. As long as Caster is around and standing, he'll be able to activate his bombs at will. The only way we can prevent that…is if we take him down first. Not exactly kill him, but at least knock him out unconscious until we're able to prevent the bombs from detonating and killing the girl. But…my friends can't kill Servants, and Yuzuru can't bring Saber into the battlefield. If they had Saber, they'd be able to kill Caster easily. My friends can at least protect him, so he could communicate with Saber, but as long as Caster's around, he'll only end up distracting them, preventing Yuzuru from reaching to Saber with his thoughts. Which means that…

I looked at my Command Seals for a moment. Assassin is the only best Servant that we have, to deal with Caster.

"Well," I said to myself, "I suppose now would be a good time to intervene as any."

I then communicated to Assassin as I said, "Assassin, this is an order from your Master, Mirai Tohsaka. We need to get the boy to commune with Saber through his thoughts in order for Saber to save the girl in time. Before we do so, we must first put Caster down and knock him out before he kills her. So, right here and right now, Assassin, engage Caster!"

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I heard my Master's orders through her thoughts telepathy, and I nodded and said, "Understood, Master."

I then looked at Caster who was about to throw his bomb at the kids, and I quickly got myself up and quickly aimed my sniper rifle, preparing to fire to interject it.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We stood where we were, as Caster was about to throw another one of his bombs at us. We couldn't move to escape, as there was no telling where the other bombs were at. We were stuck.

But then, just as Caster threw his bomb, some quick shot of a fast bullet suddenly and quickly appeared out of nowhere and hit the bomb, before the bomb exploded, causing dust of smoke to blow out and forcing us to cover our faces, and holding onto our ground from that strong force. As soon as dust cleared, a shadow quickly appeared out the trees, before the shadow revealed himself to be, and to my surprise, Assassin!

Assassin then brought out his submachine gun before firing at Caster, who quickly saw Assassin and then took quick steps away from us, as he dodged the incoming bullets that were going at him. Assassin then landed right in front of us before facing Caster as he pointed his submachine gun at him.

Caster gave out a wicked grin before he snickered and said while laughing, "Well, well, well! Look who it is! It's the Assassin-Class Servant who's now come here to play! WHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He then frowned and whined, "OHH, why did you have spoil the fun?!"

"Sorry, devil clown." said Assassin, "But, your fun time's over. These kids are under my protection."

"Assassin!" I said, "What're you doing here?!"

Assassin turned to look at me and, even though his face was covered in bandages, I could tell he was giving out a grin, as he said, "Oh, I was just around the neighborhood, kid. Oh, and…you can move around now, yes? The bombs should be gone thanks to my intervention."

Hearing what he said, I carefully took a step forward and then noticed that nothing was happening. I then turned to the others who did the same, and they nodded to me that everything was okay. I nodded to them before I turned to Assassin and said, "Yeah, we're okay, thanks to you."

Assassin nodded and said, "Good to know. As much as I'd like to tell you "go on and go after your girl", I'd suggest you stay where you are for now. Try not move anywhere else away from the three or go to the front gates to exit without thinking first. If you do, you'll get caught by those bombs that Caster set up there and you'll be dead."

I looked at him for a moment, taking in on what he said, before I nodded to him, signifying to him that I got what he said.

Assassin nodded back to me before turning to face Caster and said, "Now then, let's get this over with. You three, try to find a place to hide and keep the kid safe. I'll deal with Caster here. I'm going to distract him. While I do that, try to get him to communicate with Saber."

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "C-Communicate? W-What're you-?"

I suddenly felt Aimi grabbed me by the hand and said, "Shindou-sama, we have to go now! Hurry!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, "But, what about-?"

"Don't worry about Assassin, just do as he says right now!" said Aimi, as she kept pulling me away, "We'll explain what he means once we're away, c'mon! Quickly!"

As Aimi pulled me away, I looked at Assassin facing against Caster one last time, before she kept pulling me until I was forced turn away to follow.

* * *

Assassin's POV:

As soon as I felt that their presence was gone from behind me, I focused all my attention on Caster. Good. Now that they're out of the way, I'll have little to worry about and enough time to deal with Caster. Still…this could be…no, this is the worst possible match-up. Even if I do try to manage in a fight against this clown, that devil still has the advantage thanks those ridiculous bombs of his. However…

I looked to my side to see my gun in my holster, my Thompson Contender. Yes. If worse comes to worse, I'll use it to disable Caster. The question is…can they work on Servants like Caster?

"HEHEHEHEHEHE!" Caster giggled, before saying, "Are you sure you really wanna do that, buddy? What can a weak Servant like you possibly do anyway?"

I did not respond as I remained silent, my submachine gun, Calico M950, remained pointed at Caster, preparing to attack and fire at him should he try to attack first.

"Ooooh, a silent type!" Caster grinned, wickedly, "You think you're SO tough?! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

I sighed and said, almost quietly, "Kid's right about one thing…you are a freak of a clown."

Then, without delay, I began firing my Calico, rapidly shooting out bullets aiming at Caster. As I fired, Caster began moving around, trying to get step back away from the bullets that were rapidly being aimed at him, making my bullets only missing him. Dammit, he moves fast! I kept on firing rapidly at Caster, trying to get a shot at him, but none of it seems to be working.

Caster landed on a branch of a tree as he gave out that wide wicked smile as he said while laughing, "Now, look out for this! EHEHEHEHE!"

When he pointed, I looked at where he was pointing at, and I quickly noticed that here was a bomb set underneath me, much to my shock. Dammit!

"3, 2, 1." Caster counted, before he shouted, "BANG!"

Before the bomb could explode, I quickly and silently chanted out, "_ _ - _ _!" Once I chanted that, everything around me went into slow motion, as I then quickly made a run for it, getting myself away from the bomb as far away as possible. When everything went back to normal motion, and as soon as I got far away enough, the bomb exploded where I once stood.

When I looked up at Caster, he had a look of surprise and confusion for a moment, before he realized what I did, and said with a creepy smile, "Ah, I see what you did there! Hahaha! Nice trick you got there!"

"Hmph." I said, as I got myself back up to stand.

"But there's just one problem…!" said Caster, before he shouted happily, "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE THERE!"

"WHAT?!" I shouted, shocked, before I looked down and saw there was another one, before I quickly and silently chanted again, "_ _ - _ _!"

Everything around me went in slow motion again before I quickly moved out the way as the bomb was slowly exploding where I once stood. As soon as everything went back to normal motion, the bomb fully exploded where I once stood. I stopped myself to take a breather, before I suddenly saw another bomb in front of me, and I quickly got myself away from it as it exploded, before another appeared in front of me and I stepped away from it as it exploded again. Then, there were more bombs around wherever I tried to go, as I quickly got myself away from each and every one of them as they each exploded at a time, trying to get to me.

"Dammit…!" I cursed, "That damn clown placed bombs everywhere!"

I used my Calico to fire at the bombs that I saw were nearby, as they then exploded once my bullets had made in contact with them, before I landed on the ground and quickly reloaded my weapon. I then suddenly saw Caster jumped above as he threw his bomb at me, before I reacted quickly and countered it with my grenade bomb. Both our bombs exploded once they made in contact with each other, causing a giant explosion that then created a large smoke, covering everywhere around us. I used this smoke as cover and I hid myself within, as to make sure Caster doesn't see me, while I moved around to find a place to hide myself with Caster being distracted by the smoke.

I then quickly hid myself around another building and stopped to take a breather, as my back was against the wall and I was panting from running too much. I looked back to see if Caster has found me yet, only to see that he was still distracted by the smoke that looks like it could clear out anytime soon, and Caster would be able to see again. And no doubt, he's going to use those bombs of his to track me down. I looked away and placed my back against the wall again, before I then silently chanted, "_ _ - _ _!" Once I chanted that, my heart that was racing was then slowing down before it came into a complete stop, stopping my heart rate from beating any faster and I could barely feel it myself, and my breathing becomes lag, and reduced my metabolism all the way to the point where my body temperature had cooled quickly enough to almost match the cool temperature. These bug bombs don't have eyes, so if I can slow my inner time to a third and lower my pulse and respiration as far as they can go, they can't sense nor find me. As I remained where I was, those bombs that I felt were near me felt as if they couldn't find me, so they crawled away from me, giving me space. I stayed where I was until I was fully cooled down and I stopped using it.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Me and the others were running away from the fighting that was going on between Caster and Assassin, while avoiding or taking out those bombs that were coming near us as they exploded before they could get to us. We kept on going until we found the nearest storage building before we ran inside it and quickly locked the doors before those bug bombs could get to us. We then quickly made a barricade with whatever stuffs we could find inside, before checking just to make sure it was strong enough to last, even from explosions outside.

After that was done, we stepped back away from the barricaded doors before sitting down to rest our tired legs and to take a breather.

"That…that was…that was close…" I said, between panting, "Hey, do…do you…do you think…that…this'll stop them…from…coming at us?"

"Yeah…but not for long." said Tsukuda-san, as she caught her breath, before she went to reload her guns, "Those damn bomb bugs will probably gather a lot more until they all explode at once, destroying this barricade—no, scratch that—they'll definitely kill us all!"

"Well, we'll need to do something!" said Ishikawa-san, "We can't just sit around and be stuck like sitting ducks! Otherwise, we're finished!"

"Yeah, but…what can we do?" I said.

"Shindou-sama," said Aimi, making me turn to look at her, "Listen, do you remember what Assassin said to you?"

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I realized and said, "Uh…yeah, something about communicating with Saber. But, what did he mean be that?"

Aimi smiled and said, "Well, isn't it obvious? Use your pact with Saber!"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, my pact with her?"

"Well, what else is there, you stupid idiot?!" Tsukuda-san shouted, "You and Saber are connected through your pact together, remember?! And with that pact, you should also be able to communicate with each other through telepathy!"

"Communicate…through telepathy?" I said.

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, "Masters and Servants can commune with one another through their pact together via telepathy. It is the same as to whatever you think or feel, the Servant can feel it as well from you. So, you should be able to contact Saber with your thoughts and telepathy, even if you two are far away from each other."

"Wait," I said, as I realized something, "Then, that means…if I can contact Saber…by communing with her through telepathy…!"

They nodded to me before Tsukuda-san finished for me, "…then Saber will be able to get rid of that bomb off your girl before it can even kill her."

"But…how do I do that?!" I asked, as I began to panic, "I'm not an expert mage like you guys are! I can't contact Saber, I-I don't know how! And even if I did know, I don't know if I could-!"

Aimi quickly approached me and placed her hands between my face, covering my ears a little, before she said with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Shindou-sama. That's why we're here, to help and protect you. We're on the same side now, so we'll do everything we can to help."

"But, what about-?"

"No, don't focus on Caster!" Aimi made me look at her, when I tried to look at the door, "Don't worry about anything! Just focus on Saber. Focus on your pact with her!"

"F-Focus…?" I said, "On…my pact…? But, how-?"

Before I could say or ask any further, Aimi placed her forehead onto mine, her hands still placed between my face, as she said to me calmly, "Just close your eyes, and think of nothing else. Clear your head and focus on your pact. Close your eyes and concentrate."

"U-Um…uh…o-okay…" I said, as I did what she told me. I began to close my eyes, and once they were closed, I began to concentrate, and think about nothing but our pact.

"Just concentrate, stay focused." I heard Aimi said, "Listen and feel it. Listen to the voice of Saber, feel the connection that you have with her through your pact. Focus. Listen and feel her thoughts."

I did what Aimi told me to do, as I began to concentrate, focusing all my thoughts and feelings on Saber and our pact between us that connects the both of us. Yes. My pact with Saber…I think I can feel it. My pact with Saber, it…feels like…streaming water that was flowing through my body. It felt…amazing. So, this is what our pact is like. And…I think I can hear Saber, it's faint, but I think I can hear and feel it, even from this far away. I think can reach her!

"You can feel it, can't you?" I heard Aimi asked, which I nodded, "Good. If you can, then you should be able to contact Saber. Tell her about the situation, and you can get her to stop the bomb before it kills Minna. Do it quickly, before it explodes, and she'll die!"

"Right." I said, before I again focused all my thoughts on Saber, and tried to reach her with my thoughts, thinking, "Saber…Saber, if you-"

Suddenly, I heard some glass break, and then Tsukuda-san screaming, "SHIT! GET OUT, NOW!"

This broke my concentration and my connection to communicate with Saber as I was then suddenly being grabbed onto and pulled by Tsukuda-san, making me open my eyes in shock, before I briefly saw that there was one of those bombs that came and broke in from the window, before it then exploded, destroying everything that was in the storage house.

Thankfully, though, we managed to get out and escape the building alive before the exploded bomb could get in contact to us, and we landed ourselves on the ground away from the now burning building. And as soon as we recovered from that and got ourselves back up, we turned to see the burning building that was once a storage house, before we heard loud laughter and we turned to see that it was Caster who threw the bomb at us and destroyed the building, and he was laughing at us like it was funny to him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed out loud, "I FOUND YOU! AHAHAHAHA! THAT WAS EAAAAASSSY!"

"DAMMIT!" Tsukuda-san shouted, as she aimed her guns at him, "We were so close!"

"Well, now what?!" I shouted, "What do we do?!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed, as he licked his own scissor, which was gross, before he said, "Well, what now, little kiddies?! You're all gonna die here if you don't do something! And, OOOOOHHH, is it gonna be good see exploding blood around! It's gonna be a blood bath! Get it?! BLOOD BATH! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"God, I hate clown!" I said, disgusted.

"Tell me about it!" said Tsukuda-san, who was just as disgusted by Caster as I was, "Just looking at this guy makes me wanna puke!"

"Dammit…!" Ishikawa-san cursed, before drawing out her sword, "As long as that damn Caster's around, we won't be able to have him contact Saber!"

"We need to do something!" said Aimi, as she drew out her machetes, "We can't let Caster get to Shindou-sama or any of us any further! Otherwise, we have no chance of escaping!"

"Uh…guys?!" I said, as I pointed down with my metal rod, "I don't think we'll be able to run away from here either!"

They looked at where I pointed and saw that there were more of those ticking bug bombs that were coming and crawling towards us, as if surrounding us. We then heard some more ticking behind us, and we turned and saw there were more of them coming towards us from behind. Oh, great! Now, we're literally surrounded by those damn things!

"Watch our backs!" Tsukuda-san said to me and Aimi, before she and Ishikawa-san turned to face the front.

Aimi and I looked at each other, before we nodded and did as told, facing the bug bombs that were behind us, with my back against Tsukuda-san's, while Aimi's on Ishikawa-san's, weapons ready.

Before we were ready to do anything, we heard some clinging on the ground, as if something was dropped, before I suddenly heard Tsukuda-san shouted, "OH, SHIT! EVERYBODY, GET OUT, NOW!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, as I began to turn around, before suddenly, I was grabbed by the back of my shirt, and I was being pulled back, and before I knew it, everything suddenly became white.

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I had thrown a grenade at those bug bombs before it exploded, destroying them all at once, causing a gigantic explosion that brought everything around there with it, including the kids, which hopefully, they managed to escape from. I looked out to see that there was a huge smoke that covered everything before the smoke began to die down, and I looked to see that there was a giant crater that was made from the explosion, but I didn't see the kids anywhere. Did they get caught, or…?

"HEEEY!" I heard a boy yelled, probably the kid, "PUT ME DOWN!"

Well, that answers my question. I looked to where the source of that yelling was and saw the girls and the kid made it out of that safely without a scratch, as they were standing on the roof of another building. Well, most of them. One of them, the blonde, was apparently holding onto the kid by the back of his shirt.

"PUT ME DOWN, DAMMIT!" he yelled at the blonde, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"HELL IF I KNOW!" the blonde yelled back, "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAID THAT I HAVE THE WORST LUCK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! IN FACT, JUST BY MY LUCK, WHEN YOU SAY THAT, YOU BIG IDIOT, YOUR EXCESSIVE STUPIDITY HURTS MY FUCKING HEAD, YOU BIG IDIOT!"

"HUH?!" the kid yelled, incredulously, "ME?! A BIG IDIOT?! FIRST, YOU TRIED TO KILL ME, NOT ONCE, AND NOT TWICE, BUT THRICE, THEN THREATEN TO KILL ME IF I DON'T JOIN YOU, THEN YOU DRAGGED ME INTO YOUR LITTLE GROUPIE, AND NOW YOU DRAG ME INTO THIS MESS AND CALLING ME A BIG IDIOT?! IF ANYTHING, YOU'RE THE BIG IDIOT HERE, YOU BIG IDIOT, YOU AND YOUR DAMN WORST LUCK, AND YOU'D CALL ME A BIG IDIOT?! WELL, THAT MAKES YOU EVEN WORST THAN A BIG IDIOT! IDIOT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU, A BRAT NOW?!" the blonde yelled at his face, "THIS IS WHY I CAN'T STAND DEALING WITH SOMEONE LIKE YOU! AT LEAST PICK ONE, YOU DUMBASS NUMBSKULL!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, BITCH?!" the kid yelled.

"OH, BITE ME, ASSSHIT!" the blonde yelled back.

"Uh, now, now, you two, just settle down!" said the maid, as she tried to calm them down.

"STAY OUT OF THIS, AIMI!" the blonde yelled, "I'M TALKING TO THIS DUMBASS HERE!"

"HEY, DON'T YELL AT AIMI!" the kid yelled, "AT LEAST SHE'S MORE NICER AND MORE REASONABLE THAN YOU ARE!"

"OH, YEAH?!" the blonde yelled, "I'LL BET YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE YOU LIKE MAIDS!"

I sighed at their 'little argument' and whispered while shaking my head, "Kids…" I then went to focus my attention on Caster, as he was standing there and looking at them in confusion. This gave me time to move out quickly, as I stepped out and shouted while pointing my Calico, "CASTER!"

Caster turned around, alerted by me calling him, before I began my rapid fire with my Calico, aiming and shooting at Caster. Caster, however, instead of dodging them like last time, he instead used his scissor weapon to block all of my oncoming bullet attacks, while laughing out loud with that big wicked smile on his damn face.

"What's the matter, Assassin?!" Caster shouted, while laughing, "Is that the best you can do?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, how weak you are!"

I kept on firing my Calico, as a means of distracting him, before I drew out my Thompson Contender, fully loaded with a special bullet of mine, and aimed at Caster, before I pulled the trigger and I fired it at him. However, much to my shock, Caster saw the special bullet that I fired, and then he quickly dodged it in time, just before it could hit him, and the bullet only went for the destroyed storage building, hitting it, before parts of the building fell off.

"WHAT?!" I said, shocked, "NO!"

"HAHAHA!" Caster laughed, "You missed me! AHAHAHAHA!"

"Dammit…!" I cursed, before I went firing with my Calico again, making Caster continue to block my incoming bullets with his scissor, "At this rate, we'll be getting nowhere with this!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Me and Tsukuda-san were still on the roof of the building, as we kept on arguing with each other, while Aimi and Ishikawa-san just stood at the side and watched us arguing and yelling at each other.

"OH, WORST LUCK, MY ASS!" I yelled, "I'LL BET YOU SAY THAT IN EVERY OTHER SITUATION! THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE DRAGGING ME INTO YOUR SHIT IS BECAUSE YOU WANNA MESS WITH ME!"

"OH, SHUT YOUR DUMBASS FACE!" Tsukuda-san yelled back, "THE ONLY REASON I DRAG YOU INTO MY SHIT IS BECAUSE I NEED YOU TO HELP ME WITH MY LUCK! YOUR LUCK IS WAY BETTER THAN MINE, SO YOU'RE NECESSARY FOR ME!"

"OH, SO NOW I'M A USE GOOD FOR YOU?!" I yelled, "I'M BEING USED FOR YOUR GOOD LUCK BECAUSE OF YOUR WORST LUCK?!"

"IF I DON'T HAVE A GOOD LUCK CHARM, I'LL BE DEAD!" Tsukuda-san yelled back, "I DON'T WANNA DIE BECAUSE OF MY WORST LUCK IN THE WORLD!"

"Oh, dear…" said Aimi, worriedly.

"This is getting ridiculous…" Ishikawa-san sighed, while shaking her head.

Before we could argue any further, we heard a loud gunshot coming from the fight from Caster and Assassin. We turned around to see the fight and saw that Caster had just apparently dodged an incoming bullet, a silver one that came from Assassin's handgun, before going back to blocking Assassin's attacks from his submachine gun.

"Assassin…!" I said, "We gotta help him!"

Tsukuda-san let go of me, dropping me on the roof and making me land on my butt—Ow, god, that hurts—before she then said, "Yeah, we'll finish our argument later. We need to take Caster down and fast!"

"Yeah, but with the way Caster moves, how are we supposed to land a hit on him?!" I said, as I got up, "There's no way we could lay a scratch on the guy if we keep this up! I don't-huh?"

But then, when I looked ahead, I started to notice something. On the other side of the school gates, there was reconstruction going on, as the trees were cut down to create space, dirt was laid flat, construction vehicles were everywhere and were left as construction workers had left to go home, and lots of things were needed to create new buildings or whatever they're making were left reserved. But, there was actually one thing that caught my attention, and it was the crane mobile car that was lifting and carrying a stack of long tree logs that had been cut down from the trees and was left there to move later. That soon gave me an idea, as I then remembered the shot that Assassin made from his handgun. It was brief, but I did saw how powerful his bullet was when he fired it at Caster but missed. So, if Assassin fires it at crane…yeah, that could work! I just need to figure out how to get out from the gates before I draw Caster's attention and then trap him somehow.

"Judging by the look on your face, you look like you have a plan." said Ishikawa-san.

"Yeah, I do." I said, "But it's going to require me to get out from the school gates and draw Caster's attention. The only problem is those bombs at the gates. We need to get rid of them before I get out and then lure Caster towards me."

"I see." said Tsukuda-san, "In that case, leave it to me." She then brought out one of her handguns as she said, "I couldn't do it because Caster was in the way, but with Assassin keeping him busy now, I should be able to blow up those bombs and get us outta here."

"Can you do that?" I asked.

"I can, but we have to move fast." said Tsukuda-san, "We need to hurry, while Assassin stalls him for a little longer. If we do it right, we'll put down Caster and then save your Minna. Whatever you're planning, we only have one chance, and it's better be right."

"Right." I nodded, "Then, let's do it."

Tsukuda-san nodded before she said, "Let's move while Caster's distracted. C'mon!"

"Shindou-sama, hold onto me." said Aimi, as she took my hand and made me hold onto her waist, "Hang tight."

"Right, okay." I said, as I held on tight.

The three then chanted in German, "Es ist gross. es ist klein. ¡Vox Gott Es Altas! (It is large. it is small. ¡The Voice of God is the World!)" Then, just within complete seconds, they sprinted and moved at top speed, making them move as fast as lightening, and making me held on much tighter trying not to let go, before we finally made it to the front gates, where, without a doubt, had those bug bombs surrounding it.

I let go of Aimi as I then said, "Okay, now what?"

"Everybody, stay back." said Tsukuda-san, as she loaded her gun with a red jeweled bullet, "I'm going to take them down."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, what're you-?"

Ishikawa-san then grabbed my shoulder as she pulled me back and said, "Trust us, just do what she says."

I looked at both Ishikawa-san and Aimi as they nodded, signaling me to do so, before I nodded back and followed them, staying back away from what Tsukuda-san was about to do, and we stood and watched. Tsukuda-san then faced forward in front of the school gates filled and crawling with those bug bombs, before she brought her handgun in front of her face, as she then closed her eyes and began chanting in German, "Brennende Asche zu Asche. Brennender Staub zu Staub. Leichtes Feuer mit Feuer (Burning Ash to Ash. Burning Dust to Dust. Light Fire with Fire)." As she chanted that, surging of hot energy was rising and coming over to her, before she chanted in German, "Verbrenne alles, was in der Dunkelheit steht (Incinerate All that Stands in Darkness)." Then, she opened her eyes, glaring at what's in front of her, as she then pointed her gun and shouted in German, "Entzünden (Ignite)!"

Then, she pulled the trigger, and she fired her shot, her bullet became a giant fireball that was as big as a basketball, just like before, aiming straight at the bug bombs before it came in contact with them, and then, they all exploded, causing and creating a giant smoke, making us cover ourselves from it.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Tsukuda-san grabbed my arm and said, "C'mon, let's go! We don't have much time left, that explosion we just made will most likely catch Caster's attention! We have to move, now!"

"Uh…right!" I said, as I began to follow her and the two as she was pulling me.

Tsukuda-san then pulled me back before firing at the incoming bug bombs, making them explode, before she grabbed my hand again and shouted while we began to run out of the school gates, "Hurry!"

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I stepped out of the way as one of his bug bombs was under me, before the bomb exploded, and I landed away from Caster, trying to now keep my distance.

"Dammit…!" I cursed, as I reloaded my Calico, before aiming it at Caster again, as he was approaching me with that damn smile on his face, while laughing.

But then, suddenly, he stopped and turned around, as if he noticed something was wrong. I turned to where he was facing, wondering where he was looking at, until I noticed there was a huge smoke that was coming from the front of the school gate. Smoke? Judging by how large the smoke is, it must've come those kids. Did something happen? Did those kids perhaps…? No, they aren't that foolish to just go out and try to escape through the front gate. In fact, I can still feel that they're still alive. Which means they must've destroyed those bombs at the front gate while I was keeping Caster busy. And I didn't sense them leaving to get to that lady friend of that kid, and if they're still around and haven't left, that means they must have a plan. In that case…!

"Caster!" I shouted, getting his attention, before I began firing my Calico at him again, making quickly react in time to begin blocking my oncoming bullets on him.

This gave me the advantage as while I kept firing at him, I got up on my feet and drew out my combat knife, and then I began charging at Caster while I still held my Calico firing at him as he was distracted while blocking my bullets. Once I got close enough, I went for a strike with my knife, but he already through this and easily dodged my knife attack, before he knocked my Calico away and went for a strike with his scissor. I manage to luckily dodge it before stepping back away from him, and we clashed our weapons against each other, struggling and pushing each other with our weapons. He gave out a laughing smile while I was gritting my teeth, annoyed by this. We kept on pushing our weapons against each other until I managed to kick him in the stomach, pushing him away, and I went to strike him again, only for him to parry my knife with his scissor, and then be kicked by Caster in the stomach, pushing me back.

"Dammit…!" I cursed, "This is getting ridiculous!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caster laughed, as he began to approach me, "Aw, tough luck for you, Assassin! Looks like you can't win! You're gonna be the first to be 'KA-BOOM!' and go bye-bye! It's gonna be raining fun of blood of you! GET IT?! FUUUUUN~! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I growled at him as he kept on laughing, until I heard someone called, "HEY, CASTER!"

I then saw a brick stone thrown at Caster as it hit him in the back of the head, hurting him, but not enough, and making him turn to who threw it at him, and it was none other than the kid, who waving his hands up and shouting, "YEAH, COME AT ME, YOU DAMN UGLY CLOWN! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT!"

"What?!" I thought, incredulously, "Is he crazy?!"

I looked and saw Caster was shocked and confused for a moment, as he said, "Huh?! Wait, the Master's out?! When and how did he get out?!" But then his confused looked changed back to his laughing smile as he said, "Well, no matter! Since he asked for it, I'll just give it to him! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

He then crouched down before he went for a jump, jumping very high over the school gates and head straight to the boy.

"Dammit, that idiot!" I shouted, as I began to run to follow suit, "What the hell kind of plan is that?!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Caster was high above ground level as he was coming down from the jump that he made. While he did so, he threw down his bombs straight at me. But thankfully, just as they were getting close to me, I was covered by Tsukuda-san and Aimi who were hiding by construction work, as Tsukuda-san provided cover fire shooting at the bombs, while Aimi provided cover by throwing her knives at them, making them explode in the air before they could reach me. I then went on running away from Caster, who landing on the ground before coming after me, as I was running towards the crane that was holding the stack of tree logs. As I ran, I looked back a little, and I saw that Caster didn't seem to notice what I was doing, and he didn't seem to notice the crane there, making his focus only on me. Good, that's exactly what I need him to do!

I then spotted and quickly picked up another metal rod, longer than the one I was holding, before I shouted, "Enhance!" With that, my Magic Circuits appeared on my arm before going towards the new metal rod I was holding, enhancing it and making it stronger. Once I got close to the spot where the stack of tree logs would drop, I turned back around to face Caster, as I readied myself in a stance.

Caster charged up at me and went for a straight strike with his scissor, but I quickly reacted and parried it with my shorter metal rod before I went for a swing with my longer one aiming straight at his head. Caster quickly dodged it by moving back, before he brought his scissor and went with it open to cut my head off, but I managed to quickly duck down before I went for his legs, tripping him to the ground. I then went to stab him from above, but Caster moved away before I could hit him, and he quickly got back up and went to try to cut me again, but I quickly blocked his scissor with my long rod before he cut it in half. I quickly used my cut of metal rod to hit and injure him in his upper right side of the abdomen, making him winch in pain, before I quickly stabbed it on his left foot, trapping him. Caster tried to hit me with a swing, but I quickly dodged in time before picking up the other half of the cut of long rod and went at him. I clashed his scissor with my metal rod as we pushed our weapons against each other, as we faced each other. Caster was giving out his creepy laughable smile, while I was giving out and angry and determined look. Caster then used his other hand that was holding a bomb and went to give that to me, but I quickly used my shorter one and knocked the bomb from his hand farther away from us before it exploded, and I quickly moved his scissor away with my long metal rod before I used my shorter one and stabbed it on his right foot, completely trapping him, so that way, Caster won't be able to go into spiritual form and escape. I then quickly moved his scissor in front of him to stab his left hand and the ground, and then used my long metal rod to trap both his weapon and his arms by placing it in one of the handle holes, and with my full strength, I quickly bent it to trap his arm that was holding his scissor, trapping him good.

"HEY!" Caster shouted, as he struggled to move around, "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"

I then found another metal rod before I quickly grabbed it and used it to grab hold of him so that he wouldn't escape. I then saw Assassin as he was quickly approaching us. Great! Now, I just need to signal him to shoot!

* * *

Assassin's POV:

I was running on my way to get to the kid as Caster was onto him already. Dammit! I can't believe that idiot! What is he thinking, trying to take Caster on?! What the hell kind plan is that?!

But then, just as I was almost there to him, I stopped for a minute and saw him taking on Caster, and the way he was doing so…it was admittedly impressive. But, the kid wasn't just fighting Caster, he was trapping him. The question is why?

Then, I saw the kid grabbed hold of Caster with a metal rod, strangling his body, before the kid noticed me and he shouted, "ASSASSIN, SHOOT! QUICK, SHOOT! HURRY! SHOOT NOW!"

"Huh?" I thought, "Shoot? Wait, what is he-? Huh?"

That was when I noticed something, and above him was a stack of tree logs that were being lifted and carried by a mobile crane. Then, that's when I realized…

"Oh, I see now." I thought, before I then took out my Thompson Contender and unloaded my empty shell, "Well, not exactly what I expected nor intended…" I loaded another special bullet of mine and then set it, before I thought, "…but, I guess his plan will do."

I then faced forward and pointed my Contender at Caster, as I intended to be making him think I plan on shooting at him this time. Caster saw me and, just as I'd expect, he thought he plans to shoot him this time, since he was stuck and was being strained by the kid, before he began to panic as he then tried to struggle to break free, wrestling with the kid who wouldn't let go of the metal rod that was holding him.

"ASSASSIN, HURRY!" the kid shouted, "SHOOT!"

Hold on, kid. Not yet…

Caster kept on struggling as he tries to get the kid off of him, making the restrains in his arms also breaking a little.

"C'MON, SHOOT!" the kid shouted, "SHOOT, ASSASSIN!"

Not yet…

Caster struggled even further, as the kid was now losing strength to hold on, and the restrains in his arms were now coming apart.

"HURRY, ASSASSIN, SHOOT!" the kid shouted, as he was straining to go on, "I-I CAN'T HOLD HIM MUCH LONGER!"

Hold on, kid. Just one more second…

Then, with all his might, Caster broke his arms free and got the kid off of him, turning his attention away from me as he brought the kid down.

NOW!

I quickly and silently chanted out, "_ _ - _ _!" As everything went into slow motion, I quickly pointed my gun at the wires of the crane and quickly fired my shot, before I went pack to pointing my gun at Caster, as everything went back into normal motion, making him think that I fired, but I just missed him.

Caster turned to look at me, seeing that I had fired at him only for me to miss him. Caster then gave out a big smile before he laughed out loud while saying, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AH, POOR LITTLE MASTER! LOOKS LIKE YOUR PLAN FAILED! YOU'RE LITTLE ASSASSIN FRIEND MISSED ME! HAHAHA! NOW, IT'S GONNA END WITH A BANG REAL SOON! GET IT?! BANG! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The kid and I merely stood where we were as he kept on laughing out loud, before I smirked, knowing what's going to come for him. Fool. Who said I was aiming for you?

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was on the ground while Caster was laughing, before a loud clang was heard. Hearing that clang, Caster stopped laughing and suddenly became confused by that sound, before suddenly, there was a sound of wires being cut off from above, making Caster look up before his eyes widened, realizing what was happening now.

Up above us, the wires that were holding onto the tree logs were being cut off and broken one-by-one, as the wires were about to break open to release the stack of logs that will come down falling directly at Caster.

Caster looked at me with a shocked look, as he then said, "That's…not funny."

I smirked at him before I quickly got up and ran away from where I was standing, away from Caster, who was now trapped thanks to the metal rods that stabbed on his feet with, making them hard for Caster to pull off and get out of. Caster tried to come after me to catch me but failed to do so. Hearing more of the wires being cut off more, Caster looked above him and began to panic, seeing that there was no way for him to escape and that this was coming to him now. Then, with the last wire snapped open, the stack of tree logs began to fall off and land on top of Caster, crushing him and trapping him within the falling logs. I quickly got farther away before I covered myself, seeing that there was dust coming towards me.

As soon as the dust cleared, I looked up and saw that there was a large pile of tree logs, signifying that Caster has been crushed and trapped, with the only thing left is his stupid clown hat.

"Yes!" I cheered, "Yes, we did it! I can't believe it worked!"

Tsukuda-san, Ishikawa-san, and Aimi quickly got out of there hiding spot and went up to me before seeing the result of my plan. Judging by their faces, they were just as surprised yet as amazed and pleased that my plan worked as I was.

"You did it!" Aimi cheered, "You did it, Shindou-sama!"

"Well, I'll be damned." Tsukuda-san sighed, in satisfaction, "I can't believe you planned all this and it worked."

"Yeah, well, I figured since we can't kill Caster, we could might as well knock him out or so." I said, "And I knew that if I could at least hold him making him remain in material form, he won't be able to escape. Trapping him would be a good idea to hold him."

"Well, quick thinking." said Ishikawa-san, "But, we can't celebrate yet, the bomb is still on Minna, and with Caster unconscious, it's likely it'll explode any minute!"

"Right!" said Aimi, "There's no time left! Shindou-sama, hurry and contact Saber! Get her to stop the bomb!"

"Right!" I nodded quickly, before I closed my eyes and concentrated on our pact again. I stayed focused, concentrated my thoughts and feelings to get to Saber through our pact, until I was finally able to find her and made it so that I could communicate with her quickly. I put all of my focus on Saber before I linked my contact to her, before I thought, "Saber! Saber! Saber, if you can hear me, there's a bomb on Minna's back and it's gonna blow and kill her any minute! You have to stop it! Hurry! Hurry, Saber! There's a bomb on Minna's back! GET RID OF THE BOMB!"

* * *

Saber's POV:

I stopped and gasped, as I suddenly felt and heard my Master calling me in my thoughts through his. It was a bit faint, but I heard it very loud and clear.

"A bomb?!" I thought, "On Minna?!"

I then looked up ahead as Minna and Yukitsuki were walking ahead of me while talking to each other as we were walking on our way home. Then, that's when I saw, for a moment, there was something, a bug that looked like a ticking pocket watch that was on Minna's back. That was when I felt something was wrong, before I thought about what Yuzuru said. That must be the bomb!

"MINNA, WAIT!" I shouted, "STOP!"

Minna and Yukitsuki stopped walking and turned to look at me with confused looks, as I quickly ran up to them, before Minna asked, "What's wrong, Elaina?"

"MINNA, DON'T MOVE!" I shouted, before I quickly went behind her back, and quickly found the bomb on her back, before I quickly removed it and looked at it, and saw the clock only had seconds left before it explodes.

"Huh?" said Yukitsuki, confused, "Wait, what's that? A bug?"

"Dammit!" I cursed, in my thoughts, "There's no time!"

I then quickly turned around, and with all my strength, I quickly threw the bomb away up into the air, before I turned back and shouted to them, "EVERYBODY, GET DOWN, NOW! IT'S A BOMB!"

As everything went into slow motion, I quickly covered the both of them as we both got down to the ground, before finally, the bomb exploded in the sky, causing the girls to scream as the wave from the explosion was coming at us. We stayed where were and waited until it was over.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I saw and heard the bomb exploded a mile away, though what I saw was a bit faint, and I became worried that…that Saber…

"Minna…" I said, worried, "God, please be okay…"

* * *

Saber's POV:

As soon as it was over, we began to get ourselves back up on our feet, before we turned to where I had thrown the bomb at. That was close.

"W-W-What the hell was that?!" Yukitsuki shouted, "If this is some kind of prank, it's NOT funny!"

I then quickly turned to Minna and asked out of concerned, "Minna! Minna, are you alright?! Are you hurt anywhere?!"

Minna was a bit shaken up by what had just happened, but she managed to recover before she looked at me and said with a reassuring smile, "Nein, I'm okay. Danke, Elaina."

After looking at her to making sure she was sure, I sighed and said relieved, "Oh, thank goodness…"

I then looked at Yukitsuki and asked, "Are you alright as well, Yukitsuki?"

"Uh…yeah." said Yukitsuki, recovering a little, "I'm okay. It was pretty scary, though."

I sighed again and said, "Good. That's good."

Then, there were people who heard an explosion coming towards us from other neighborhoods as they all worn looks of concerned as they came to us with questions whether we were unharmed. While Minna and Yukitsuki talks to them, I turned away to contact my Master.

"Master?" I thought, "Yuzuru, can you hear me?"

"Saber?!" Yuzuru shouted, telepathically, "Oh, thank goodness, you're still here! W-What happened?! D-Did the bomb-?!"

"It's alright, calm down." I thought, "I managed to get rid of the bomb before it exploded."

"A-And Minna…?" he asked, telepathically, "I-Is she…is she okay? Is she alright?"

I looked at Minna as she and Yukitsuki were talking to some people, as they were reassuring them that they were fine. I smiled at them before I thought, "Yes, she's alright, Master. And it's all thanks to you getting in contact with me in time."

I heard him sighed in relief as he said telepathically, "Oh, thank goodness! I…thought she was gone for good! I…I wouldn't know what I'd do if she died. Thank you, Saber. I owe you one."

"No need." I thought, "I just did what you told me to do as your Servant, and I took action in time before it was too late. Besides, I know how much she means to you."

"Still, thanks." he said, telepathically.

I then became concerned, before I asked in thoughts, "Master, what about you? What happened back there?"

Before he could explain, he was interrupted as he said telepathically, talking to someone else, "H-Huh? S-Sorry, what was that? H-Huh?! Wait, what?! R-Right now?! Wha-H-Hey, hold on! Hey! Hold on, don't just pull me!"

"Master?" I thought.

"Uh, sorry, I gotta go!" said Yuzuru, telepathically, "I'll explain later when I get back! See you at home! Bye!"

"H-Hey, wait!" I shouted, in thoughts, "Master! MASTER!"

I didn't get any response after a minute, as I had already lost contact with Yuzuru. I then sighed at that as I thought while looking back at where Yuzuru is, "What in the world happened back there?"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

"H-Hey!" I shouted, as I was being pulled by Tsukuda-san, "W-What're you doing?! I wasn't done talking to Saber!"

"There's no time for that!" Tsukuda-san shouted, while pulling me, "Caster will be getting back up any minute by now! We have to go!"

"Huh?!" I said, confused, "Wait, go where?!"

"There's no time!" Tsukuda-san shouted, "We need to get outta here now! C'mon!"

"Trust us!" said Aimi, "We need to leave this place before Caster wakes up! Come, Shindou-sama!"

"Uh, wait!" I shouted, before I was forced to run with them.

"C'mon!" Tsukuda-san shouted, as we all began to run away from here, "Hurry!"

* * *

Later:

We ran away from the academy, away from Caster as fast as we could, until we made it to the Tohsaka Mansion. As soon as we got inside, we stopped by the living room and sat in couches, as we stopped to take a rest from what happened today. We were all exhausted.

Then, Mirai-senpai came in and said, with a relieved look on her face, "Oh, good. You've all made it." She then turned to the side and called, "Assassin!"

As soon as she called upon him, Assassin appeared materialized in his physical form before he faced Mirai-senpai and bowed, saying, "Yes, Master?"

"Did Caster follow you and the others on your way here?" she asked, to make sure.

"No, he didn't." said Assassin, "Caster hasn't followed us or tried to attack us. It's likely that he's still trapped in those tree logs back there, or his Master had called him back."

"I see." said Mirai-senpai, "Assassin, go outside and be on guard in case anyone did follow you here. We need to make sure and must be cautious."

"Understood." Assassin bowed, before he began to dematerialize into blue mana, and left our sight.

Mirai-senpai then turned to us and asked us out of concern, "So, how are you all feeling now?"

"Tired…" Tsukuda-san sighed, tiredly, "But still alive, at least…"

"Yes, we're all fine, milady..." said Ishikawa-san, tiredly, "We're just…glad it's over for now, and we made it back…"

"We're all wounded and tired…" said Aimi, tiredly, "But we're unharmed nonetheless, Mirai Ojou-sama…"

"I see." said Mirai-senpai, "Well, that's good to hear from all of you. I'm glad you've all made it safely. I've already called the Church so that Caren and they could handle the mess Caster made back at the academy." She then looked at me and asked, "And you, Yuzuru?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said, "I'm just…glad that we got outta there alive." I then sighed and said, "And I'm just glad that Minna's okay, too." I then looked at them, as they suddenly looked at me with serious looks on their faces, before I said, "What?"

"Well?" said Tsukuda-san, "Do you understand now? You're already being targeted by other Masters and Servants, and they'll not only come after you, they'll also come after your friends and loved ones as well, just like what had happened today to your Minna."

"Uh…" I said, "Well, I…"

"If the other Masters and Servants come after your girlfriend, they'll come after you." said Tsukuda-san, "And they'll take advantage of you and kill you, regardless of what you do, even with Saber. So, you'll have to partner with us if you don't want that to happen."

"You…mean team-up with you guys?" I asked.

"Precisely." Ishikawa-san answered, "You don't have any other choice in this matter. If you don't form an alliance with us, your friends and loved ones will be in danger, including your Minna."

"However, if you work alongside us, Shindou-sama," said Aimi, as she approached me and stood as an elegant maid she is, "Then we can promise you we will provide your Minna and your friends protection. Protection from the Grail War and the fighting."

"Protection?" I said, "You mean, you'll help protect her from all this?"

"Of course." Aimi smiled, "We can guarantee their safety and ensure that they do not get involved in any of this. After all, we wish to ensure that no outsiders get involved into this mess. Minna is no exception. Besides, after our fight with Caster, I think we make a very good team."

"Well, yeah, I guess so." I said, "But, how do I know I can trust you and that you're not lying?"

"Did you not say it before, Shindou-sama?" Aimi giggled, "You said that we were good and honest people. We would never lie and turn our backs against you and end up killing you. You're needed to help win the Holy Grail War, so killing you would not do us any good."

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, "Besides, we were only testing you before, to see if you were worth it, and you've already proven yourself you were. Killing you would only be a hassle. If we wanted to kill you for real, we would've done so a long time ago."

"And besides, you've just awoken your Magic Circuits." said Mirai-senpai, "You already have what it takes to become a mage yourself. So, if you join with us, we'll not only provide and guarantee protection for your Minna and your friends, but we will also teach you how to use Magecraft. That is, if you wish to. You do wish to use Magecraft and be able to defend yourself with it, don't you?"

"Well…" I said, as I thought about it for a moment.

"Trust us." said Tsukuda-san, "If you join forces with us, we can promise you those things, and your friends and your Minna will be safe, and you'll be a better mage like no other. Besides, we need an extra hand, and you can provide us that."

I thought about it for a moment, before I asked, "Can I really trust you?"

"Yes, you can." Mirai-senpai answered, "If you wish to trust us and join us."

"Will you really help me keep Minna safe?" I asked, "And my friends, too?"

"Of course, Shindou-sama." Aimi smiled, "With our help, she and everyone else will be in good hands. And I promise, we'll help you keep Minna and your friends safe."

"And…you'll teach me how to be a mage and learn Magecraft?" I asked.

"If you wish to be a mage and to learn Magecraft, then yes." Ishikawa-san.

"And…you won't turn your back against me?" I asked.

"As long as you don't turn yours on us, we won't." said Tsukuda-san, with a smirk, "Not like you can, anyway."

I thought about again for a moment. Well, they do look like they're strong enough to protect others from danger. And they are better mages than I currently am. And…I admit, I do need some help in protecting Minna. I really can't do much on my own, even with Saber on my side. Besides, they did protect me when Caster attacked us, so I do owe them one. And Mirai-senpai does have the ability to see the past and the future, so she could give me a warning of what will happen. And… after what happened today, I think I can trust them. I can trust them in help me keep Minna safe from this, and I can trust them to help me with my Magecraft. Alright, it's decided then.

I got up and faced Mirai-senpai, before I brought my hand out and said, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll join forces with you, and I'll lend you my power and Saber to help you."

Mirai-senpai gave out a smile of satisfaction, while the three gave out smiles of delight as they were happy with my answer, before I said, "But, on one condition."

Mirai-senpai nodded and said, "Go on, let's hear it."

I sighed before I answered, "Promise me that you WILL keep Minna safe, and that nothing will EVER happen to her. She's very important to me, and I don't want anything to happen to her, and I don't want to lose her. Please, that's all I ask."

Mirai-senpai looked at me for a moment as I gave out a serious expression, showing that I was being serious of not wanting anything bad happen to Minna. She then looked at each of her friends as they each gave out a nod to her. She nodded at them back before she looked at me and said with a reassuring smile, "Of course, Yuzuru." She then brought her hand out and shook mine as she said with a reassuring smile, "We promise, we won't let anything happen to her, and we will keep her safe from harm. I know how important she is to you, so we will do everything in our power to keep your Minna safe."

I nodded and asked, "It's a promise?"

Mirai-senpai nodded back and said, "It's a promise. We promise, your girlfriend is good hands with us."

I smiled and said, "Thank you." We then let go of each other's' hands after sealing the deal, before I said with a deadpanned expression, "But, just one more thing: please stop calling Minna my girlfriend, because she's not my girlfriend."

Mirai-senpai and the three looked at me surprised for a moment before looking at each other, and then they all laughed out loud.

"What?!" I said, dumbfounded, "What'd I say?!"

They kept on laughing for a while before calming down, and Mirai-senpai said, "Oh, no, no, it's nothing! It's nothing! It's just…I didn't expect you to just say that."

"Yeah." said Tsukuda-san, before she smirked and said mischievously, "And you do know, for a while there, you didn't and weren't denying the fact that she was "your" Minna!"

"H-H-Huh?!" I stammered, taking aback by that, before I shouted at her, "W-Well, of course not! That's because we were in a middle of an intense moment fighting off Caster and trying to survive, so of course I didn't have time to deny or argue with you guys on that!"

Ishikawa-san chuckled and said, "Yes, that, that is true. But you did have a sweet moment kissing her, didn't you?"

"W-WHAT?!" I shouted, shocked, "H-Hey! H-How did you-?!"

"Oh, c'mon, you think we didn't hear anything about you two?" said Tsukuda-san, "It's been going on around school, so of course we'd know."

"T-That's because I was in a middle of a moment!" I shouted, "I wasn't thinking what I was doing!"

"Please do not worry, Shindou-sama." Aimi smiled, "We understand you completely. You are a man after all, and all men do have some needs."

"I-I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" I shouted, as they then laughed again.

They then sighed before Mirai-senpai said, "We're sorry, Yuzuru. And don't worry, we know she's not. We were only messing around with you as all."

I sighed and said, "Jeez, you girls are weird…"

"Still," said Mirai-senpai, "She does make a very good female companion, if you think about it. And as your senpai, I think you should have her as your girlfriend. Besides, seeing you two together makes you both so cute."

"Well, I…" I said, uncertain, "I-I don't know…"

Mirai-senpai then placed a hand on my shoulder, as she gave me an understanding smile and said, "It's alright, I understand. You need some time to think about it before you can decide. But, don't think too long, otherwise you'll lose her, and you may not get that chance again."

I looked at her for a moment, before I remembered the advice Matou-sensei gave me, and I said, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

Mirai-senpai nodded and said, "Good." She then let go of my shoulder before she said, "Anyway, it's going to get dark soon, so I'd suggest you get home now." She turned around and called, "Assassin?"

From her call, Assassin appeared again and said, "Yes, my Master?"

"Anything happening outside?" she asked.

"No." he answered, "Everything is clear, so far. No sign of Caster or any other enemy Servants around."

"Good." said Mirai-senpai, "Then I want you to escort the boy home. He has aligned himself with us, so he is our ally until the Holy Grail War comes to an end, so that means you will not kill him, the girl of his, or any one of his friends. You will work alongside him as he and Saber works alongside us. Is that clear, Assassin?"

Assassin nodded and said, "Of course, my Master."

"Good." Mirai-senpai nodded, "Now, escort the boy home."

"As you wish." He bowed to her, before he looked at me and said, "Well, kid, let's get you home."

"Uh, right…" I said, before I looked at Mirai-senpai and the others and said, "Thanks."

"No need to thank us." said Mirai-senpai, "We're just doing what we can for you. You just get home safe and sound. Don't make Minna worry about you too long."

"I won't." I said, before I turned to Assassin as he nodded to me, before went off to head back home.

* * *

Later:

It was already dark outside, and street lights were already on, as I was walking on my way home with some groceries that I bought from the stores in time to make dinner, for a little celebration for Minna's arrival to Japan, while Assassin was in spiritual form keeping me company. We then stopped halfway to my apartment, before I said, "This is where we can part ways."

Assassin materialized into his physical form and said, "Then, my job is done here."

"Yeah." I said, "You can go back to Mirai-senpai and the others now. Thanks for escorting me. You were a great help."

"No need to thank me." said Assassin, "I'm just doing my job as a Servant. Nothing personal."

"Still, thanks." I said, "And…thanks for helping me out before. If you didn't come to rescue us, we would've been dead for sure. I guess you could say I owe you one."

Assassin was silent for a moment, before he said, "You don't have to owe Servants anything, kid. We are no more than familiars, tools to use whenever Masters needed them, so you have no need to treat us like human beings."

"You make it sound like you don't care about your life." I said, "I mean, just because you're spirits, doesn't mean I should be treating you like tools. And besides, you seem like real people to me, even Saber. I wouldn't want to treat you guys that way if it weren't for the way you are."

"I see." said Assassin.

"Yeah." I said, "So, anyway, I'll be going now."

"Hold on, kid." said Assassin, "Before you go, let me ask you something."

"Uh, sure." I said, "Go ahead."

"Tell me," said Assassin, "Why didn't you used your Command Seals to call on Saber when you had the chance? If you had done so, you would've been able to take down and kill Caster. It would've been much easier and quicker if you had done so without worrying about that girl. You could've taken that chance, yet you didn't. Why is that? Does your thoughts and emotions about that girl got the better of you?"

I took in what Assassin had asked me, before I answered, "I couldn't take that chance, and he would've ended her life if I did so. And even if I did want to, I couldn't do that, I didn't want to, without having Minna killed. Sacrificing her wouldn't be worth it, even if it meant Saber winning against Caster. I don't want to sacrifice Minna, she's…too important to me."

"I see." said Assassin, "Then your feelings and emotions did get the better of you then."

"Well, maybe." I said, "But still, I couldn't take that chance. Besides, Minna has nothing to do with the Grail War."

"On the contrary, it would've saved your life and theirs." said Assassin, "If it were up to me, I would've done what I've done and never look back."

"Why?" I asked, "Because, you're an Assassin?"

"Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for the greater good." Assassin answered, "To save many lives, we have to sacrifice a few to save many, to make the world a better place, even if it means by doing so in a cruel way. I would've gone along with the plan without bothering personal feelings. People that die for you don't matter, what matters is that you manage to finish the job thanks to what you've done to save not just yourself, but also other lives."

"You make it sound like you should use evil to destroy evil." I said, "That's not how heroes should do things, and that's not how saving lives work. Heroes are supposed to do good and bring justice and righteousness to the world, and do what is the right thing to do, otherwise they'd be no better than those who're evil and cruel in the world. And sacrificing people, even the ones you truly love, doesn't make things any better."

"Kid, you don't understand." said Assassin, "This world is cruel itself. The people in this world are nothing but cruel themselves. There are no such thing as good people who bring "justice" or "righteousness". And there is no such thing as heroes who can save the world with their "righteousness" and "justice". And there is no such thing as "the right thing to do". All there is in this world is unspeakable cruelty and despair, and illusions made by the "dazzling heroes" throughout history who blinded them with their "great legends" and their soulless crime called "victory" paid for by the pain of the defeated, but humanity has never recognize the truth, because every "heroes" in every era has kept them from seeing the evil in the world of bloodshed and battlefields they bring. And people do what they do, even by evil ways, because they do what is best for them and no one else. True human nature has not advanced a step beyond the stone age. And you are no exception to that, are you boy?"

"Well," I said, "I mean, I get what you mean. And it's true what you said, the world can be cruel, and lots of bad things can happen to people, even if it's towards themselves. Anything and anyone can do lots of bad things, towards everything and everyone, even towards themselves, and even if they don't know it. Not everyone is perfect, and yeah, I'm no exception to all that. But, that doesn't mean that there isn't beauty in anything in this world, and that doesn't mean that not everyone is good either. Sometimes, there are also people who can think clearly, think about what's the right thing to do, and do it because it's the right choice, and they can do it without the need to sacrifice others. I believe there is still goodness in this world, and I believe there is still good in people, it's just hidden deep inside is all. Just like Mirai-senpai and those three friends of hers. And, I do believe that heroes who bring righteousness and justice exist. Just because what they do isn't exactly great, doesn't mean it's completely evil in itself. Because, heroes in every history not only shows us the evil in the acts of war, but they also show inspiration to people who wants to be heroes and make the world a better place. Hell, even fictional stories gives us inspiration and shows us how great true heroes can be."

"I see." said Assassin, "So, you think differently then. You believe in such things."

"Yeah, I do." I said, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like I wanna be a Hero of Justice and go out to save the world like a superhero or anything, I just…like to help out people whenever and however I can, like any normal good person would do."

"I see." said Assassin, "Then, what exactly do you want?"

"Well, like I said, I don't want to be a Hero of Justice." I said, "Because, I know that saving the world, and saving everyone in the world, is completely impossible, no matter what you do. What I want to be is a hero who can protect the one who is precious to me, because she means the world to me, and I want to protect her and give her the happiness in the world, like a heroic knight who goes to save the princess and all. It's silly, I know, but that's what I want."

"I see." said Assassin, "So that's why you refused to use your Command Seals to call upon Saber, and why you refused to sacrifice your lady friend."

"Minna's not my lady friend." I said, "But, yeah, that's why. Because, a long time ago, I made a promise to her that I would become a hero who would come and protect her no matter what, and that she would be in good hands with me so that she'll always be safe, because she's the most very important person to me. She's the reason that I have a purpose in life, and the reason why I'm here now, and that I am what I am today."

"I see." said Assassin.

"So, you see, Assassin." I said, "I can't sacrifice Minna, even if it meant saving everyone in the world. I don't want to lose her. If I did so, I won't be what Minna sees me as, and if I ended up being a killer doing so, I'd be no better than a villain, and then…if I fall into darkness and never stop myself, I'd never go back. That's why, I'm going to be a hero to protect Minna, even if the whole world turns against me, because I made that promise to her, and I'm going to keep that promise and protect her with my life."

"I see." said Assassin, "Well, at least you're an honest one." He then looked at me for a moment, as if thinking about something, before he said, "It is likely that you and I will never get along."

I looked at him confused for a bit, before I chuckled a little and said, "Nah, I don't think that'll be the case. I mean, sure, you might not look like it, but you seem pretty decent, despite being an Assassin. If anything, I think you're a very good person, and I think you and I might get along really well, we just…need some time to get to know each other better and get used to each other. I'm sure that as time passes, we'll become friends just fine."

Assassin sighed and, even though his face was covered, I could tell he was giving a small smile, before he said, "That is unlikely, kid, but we'll have it your way and see." He then turned around to leave before he looked back at me and said, "As for what you want, you can do whatever you like. Just…don't end up regretting it later. And…don't always make promises that you can't keep, or you'll only end up dead." Then with that, he began to go into spiritual form and then disappeared into blue mana, and his presence was gone, meaning that he left.

I looked at where he once stood, before I answered in a whisper, "I know." Then, I turned around to where my apartment complex is, and I went to go back home. Hopefully, I can see Minna, all safe and sound.

* * *

I went to my apartment room and saw that the light through the windows were on, meaning that they must be inside. I unlocked the door with my apartment key, before I opened and said, "I'm home!"

Then, out of nowhere, Minna came and hugged me as she said happily, "Welcome back, Yuzu-kun! Oh, I'm so happy to see you again!"

"Minna!" I said, as I hugged her back, happy to see that she's here, alive and well, "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" I let go of her to look at her and said, "On my way back, I-I heard an explosion happening and I thought…god, I thought something bad happened to you! A-Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Minna smiled and said reassuringly, "Nein, I'm alright, Yuzu-kun. Thank you for worrying about me, I'm perfectly okay, thanks to Elaina. She was the one who noticed what was wrong and saved me."

"Yuzuru!" said Saber, as she just came to see me at the door, "Welcome back. I'm glad you got home in time."

"Yeah, good to be back." I said, "And thanks for saving Minna. I owe you one."

"There's no need for that." said Saber, "I just did what I could to protect her as you told me to do."

"Shindou-kun!" said Yukitsuki-san, as she came with an apron on, "Welcome home!"

"Oh, hey, Yukitsuki-san!" I said, before I remembered that she was with them, and I asked in concern, "So, are you alright? I know you were with Minna and Elaina when the explosion happened, so are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Yukitsuki-san smiled, "Thanks for worrying. So, anyway, I was going to cook dinner for everyone. You wanna help out?"

"Oh, yeah." I said, "I did brought groceries for dinner to make. And I was hoping we could celebrate Minna's arrival here. I mean, she did come all this way from Germany."

"O-Oh, yeah…uh, sure." said Yukitsuki-san, "We can…uh…do that."

Huh. For some reason, she doesn't sound so happy. I wonder what's wrong? Maybe she's still a bit scared from what happened?

"Hey, are you sure okay?" I asked, worriedly, "You don't…sound so good."

"Oh, no, I'm fine, it's…it's nothing." said Yukitsuki-san, "I'm just…a little tired is all."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, if you say so." I then looked at Minna and said, "Anyway, Yukitsuki-san and I will be making dinner, so can you and Elaina wait the living room a bit?"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'll do that!"

* * *

Me and Yukitsuki-san were in the kitchen cooking and making dinner while Minna and Saber were in the living room, waiting while talking.

While we were cooking, Yukitsuki-san asked, "Hey, uh…Shindou-kun, can I…ask you something?"

"Huh?" I said, while cooking, "Uh, sure. What is it?"

"Well, um…" said Yukitsuki-san, "Tell me, what do you…uh…think of me?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "Why are you asking that out of the blue?"

"Oh, just wondering." said Yukitsuki-san, "I was…kinda wondering what you really think of me as. Like, as a friend or…?"

"Oh, that." I said, "Well, really, I think of you as a really good friend of mine, Yukitsuki-san. I mean, you were the first friend that I ever made when I first came to Fuyuki City, and you were very helpful enough to show me around the city when I had no clue as to where I could go. And, every morning for school, you always bring us to school really early, which is good for the most part. If anything, you're like a really great friend that I could ever ask for."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "So, just a friend, and nothing more than that?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"O-Oh, no, it's nothing!" Yukitsuki-san smiled, "Don't worry about that!"

"Oh, uh…okay." I said.

"So then, what about this Minna girl?" Yukitsuki-san asked, "What do you…think of her?"

"Oh, well…" I said, stopping myself a bit, "Well, uh…I'm not…really sure yet. I mean, she's my childhood friend, and we've known each other since we were little back in Germany. And really, she sure has changed a lot since we were kids, in more ways than none. Honestly, though, I've never really thought that Minna would grow to have feelings for me. I mean, she's really important to me, and I'm really happy that she loves me, a guy who's just normal, but I…I just…I'm not really sure how I feel about her. At least, not yet, anyway. I kinda need some time to think about it and see if I feel just the same way about her."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Then, if you do feel that way about her, will you…like, you know, go on a date with her?"

I thought for a moment, before I answered, "Well, if my feelings for her are true, then yeah, maybe I would."

"I see." I heard her mumbled, "Then…I guess I have no chance then…"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "Chance at what?"

"Oh, it's nothing!" Yukitsuki-san suddenly smiled, "Don't worry about it!"

"Oh, uh…okay." I said.

"A-Anyway, let's get dinner ready." said Yukitsuki-san, "You do wanna celebrate her moving here, don't you?"

"Uh, yeah!" I said, "Let's finish doing that."

* * *

Yukitsuki's POV:

I watched as Shindou-kun went back to cooking, eager to prepare dinner for his childhood friend, who will most likely be the love of his life.

I sighed at that, knowing that I'll have no chance against such a beautiful perfect girl like her. No doubt, that girl will be the one who'll have a great chance to win Shindou-kun's heart. I mean, she has known Shindou-kun longer than any of us have, and she does have a perfect body that's way better than mine. I can't win against her. I'm way out of her league.

I looked at Shindou-kun, as I thought, "Oh, Shindou-kun…no, Yuzuru, I wish that you could see…that I'm in love with you, too."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

After we were done eating dinner, we sat down at the table and had tea together while we talked. Well, Saber was just sitting and eating some snacks on the table while me, Minna, and Yukitsuki-san talked.

"So, Minna, how's your father doing?" I asked.

"Wonderful!" Minna smiled, "He's been doing lots of great work back in Germany. Father's been running his business very well and his company has been running smoothly."

"So, Mr. Everhart's been doing pretty well." I said.

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "In fact, thanks to all his work, he was the one who brought me all the way to Japan so that I could see you again after a long time. I heard from your family that you moved to Fuyuki, so I decided to come to here to find and see you."

"I see." I said, "Well, I admit, it is really good to see you again after so long, and I'm really glad you came. I've been thinking about you a lot, wondering how you were doing."

"Ja." said Minna, "I've been thinking about you a lot, too. I've missed you so much."

"Yeah." I smiled, "Me, too. If anything, and if it were me, I'd do the same of moving to Germany wanting to see you again."

Minna came over to me to hug my arms and said happily, "And this is why I love you so much, Yuzu-kun. You're such a good person who cares so much."

"Minna…" I said. I then remembered something and asked, "By the way, Minna, since you're here in Japan, where will you be living at? I mean, I can't imagine you living anywhere else, because you just got here. And you can't live here in the other apartment rooms because it's…well, bad."

"Well, that's not necessarily the problem." said Yukitsuki-san, "You see, she and I talked about it for a bit, and…well, she insisted that she should live with you. So, she'll be living with you."

"Oh, okay." I said, not understand what she meant for a moment, but it suddenly sunk into me, making say, "Wait…" When it fully came in, I shouted in shock and disbelief, "WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAATTT?!"

Minna, Yukitsuki-san, and Saber covered their ears from me shouting out loud. Once it was over, they stopped covering their ears to hear me question them.

"What do you mean she'll be living with me?!" I said, incredulously, "No, in fact, why should she live with me?! I mean, I'm a guy for crying out loud!"

Yukitsuki-san sighed and answered, "Yeah, I know. I told her the same thing, too. And I kept telling her that she should move in with me since we're both girls, but she kept insisting on living with you, because she trusts you the most out of everyone she just met."

"You're kidding me!" I said, in disbelief, "She wants to live with me because she doesn't want to be with anyone else but me?!"

"Look, I don't like the idea of you two living together in the same apartment room any better than you do, Shindou-kun." said Yukitsuki-san, "But to her, it only makes sense because you're both childhood friends and being together with you makes her feel safe. Honestly, I think it makes sense for me too, because technically, you are in charge of keeping an eye on her and to make sure she's kept safe from whatever might happen to her. And besides, we don't have any other available apartment rooms here for her to use, because they're all filled with nothing but trash and crapload of boxes, and she can't live anywhere else because god knows what might happen to her if she lives anywhere else."

"Oh, I see." I said, as I could see her point, "Yeah, I guess I can see that. But, are you sure it's a good idea for us to live together? I mean, aren't you kinda worried about what might go wrong with us?"

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Well, as an apartment manager, of course, I'm worried about what might come between you two. I mean, you two aren't even a couple yet, and any weird things can happen when a boy and a girl live together, like hormones or anything that's inappropriate. But, Minna says since it's you of all people, she trusts you the most because you'd keep her safe. And besides, it's not like she can take no for an answer."

I looked at Minna as she was hugging my arm while giving me a look that I knew I could never say no to, before I sighed and said with a small smile, "Yeah, good point." I then asked Minna, "But, Minna, are you really sure about this? About living together with me?"

Minna nodded happily and said with a smile, "Ja, I don't mind. Because since it's you, I don't mind living together with you, because you're a good person and I know you'd never hurt me, Yuzu-kun. I'll be anywhere with you because I know you'll protect me."

"Minna…" I said, as I looked at her for a moment, before I sighed and said, smiling back, "Well, alright, if that's what you want, then we'll live together."

Minna smiled brightly from hearing me saying that, before she held me tighter and cheered, "Yay! Danke, Yuzu-kun! I love you!"

I smiled at her before I hugged her back and said, "Gern geschehen, Minna."

I heard Yukitsuki-san coughed, making me and Minna look at her, as she said, "Well, it's cute and all, but please, try not to be too clingy to each other, otherwise it's gonna give people the wrong impression."

"Oh, uh…sorry." I said, as I let Minna go.

She then got up and said, "Well, I'm going back to my room and go to bed. It's getting late, so we'll need to sleep and get ready to go to school tomorrow. Try and get some sleep, you'll need it." She then went out the door and said as she leaves, "Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight, Yukitsuki-san." I said.

"Goodnight." said Minna.

"Goodnight." said Saber, before eating her last snack.

* * *

Minna was in the bathroom taking a shower. Her luggage was already brought to her room thanks to Yukitsuki-san. While she was busy showering, I was talking to Saber in the living room, as I explained and told her everything that had happened, from our battle with Caster to me forming an alliance with Mirai-senpai and her friends.

"So, yeah, that's about the gist of it." I said, "We're gonna be in an alliance with Mirai-senpai and the others until the Grail War ends."

"I see." said Saber, "So that's what happened back there."

"Yeah." I said, "Sorry about that. I probably should've at least told you beforehand to see how you feel about the idea."

"You have no need to apologize, Master." said Saber, "I find that to be a genuine idea being in an alliance with Mirai and the others, so I have no reason to oppose it. In fact, I find that with their aid, to keep others including Minna safe from the Grail War, is a brilliant idea. I do, however, wish that you would at least inform me before you can make a decision next time."

"Right, I'll do that next time." I said, "And, I'm sorry I couldn't call on you with my Command Seals when I needed you to help deal with Caster. It was probably stupid of me."

"No, not at all." said Saber, with a small smile, "It was actually right of you to send me to look after Minna, and to keep her safe from whatever danger that may occur. You did what you did was the right course at being a Master; you showed concern for others' well-being, before you recognized a threat such as Caster, and had me took action. Had you not send me to keep in guard of her, Minna's life would've already been in danger and Caster would've already took away her life."

"Yeah, you're right." I said, "Thanks, Saber."

Saber nodded, before she then frowned before she said begrudgingly, "But still, to think that Caster of all the Servants would put up such a cowardice and underhanded trick like that on Minna, when she had nothing to do with it! I do not care as to how he did it, just why would he do it!"

I sighed and said, "I'm not sure, either. The only thing I can think as to why is either he was ordered by his Master, or he did it on his own free will, or maybe he was just acting crazy like he was when he fought against us. Saber, is it really natural for Servants like Caster to go out of control like that?"

"Well, if a Servant has free rein to do as they wish, or if a Master is not careful enough to watch over them, yes." said Saber, "Servants can tend to lose control of themselves and go on rampages while blindly killing others, such as the case with Berserker-Class Servants, or become too clever for their Masters to the point that they manipulate them in order to do as they please, such as the case for Caster Servants or even Assassin Servants. Servants tends to spiral out of control if not kept in check and they could do as they please, because of their personalities, thoughts, grudges, desires, or any other traits that are based on their origins of the Heroic Spirits that are tied to their legends. However, that is why Masters have Command Seals, in order to keep the Servants in check and under control. If the Servants are kept in check thanks to the Masters who uses Command Seals restricting them, then there would be nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I see." I said, as I looked at my Command Seals, "And the Masters will have to use these wisely before they could use them to compel whatever orders they give them in order to keep the Servants in their control. But, if things get too far or out of hand, then the Masters will have to use their Command Seals to make them commit suicide, right?"

"Correct." said Saber, "However, there can be cases where the Servants, who have no regard to their Masters and wish to do as they please, or they are unsatisfied with their said Masters, will kill them before the Masters could use their Command Seals on the Servants. In other words, they'll have to think about whether they're not just useful, but also if they are worth trusting in battle."

"Right." I said, "That makes sense. But, you're not completely insane, so there's no need for me to distrust you, right?"

Saber chuckled and said, "Of course not. I'm nothing like the Caster Servant that you've fought, so there's no need to worry. I would never go through such extreme measures, even if I'm forced to do so. Besides, I was the one who protected Minna from that explosion, was I not?"

"Yeah, you're right." I smiled, "I think I can trust you on anything."

Saber nodded, satisfied with my answer, before her expression became serious and said, "Still, based on what you've told me about Caster, I highly doubt that he was summoned by a Master who's wise, cautious, or calculative. I believe that Caster was summoned by a Master who has similar traits as Caster. Perhaps a Master who is just as vile and insane as him."

"Wait, summoned by someone with same traits?" I said, confused, "But, I thought that Servants can only be summoned by Masters who uses things like weapons, accessories, or ancient artifacts that're related to the Heroic Spirits tied to their legends."

"Not necessarily." said Saber, "While it is true of what you said; Masters collects holy relics and ancient items from the past to be used as catalysts for summoning, they allow the Masters to use these catalysts to summon specific and desired Heroic Spirits that are related to those said catalysts to become their Servants for battle. The more specific the catalyst is for summoning, the greater chance the desired Servant is summoned by you. For example, a jeweled earring from the Celtic Mythology will allow you to summon a hero from the age of Celtic, Ireland's Child of Light. However, while summoning Servants that way is effective, that is not necessarily the case, for they can also be summoned without the need of the catalysts."

"Wait, really?" I said, surprised.

Saber nodded before she continued, "To be precise, when Servants are summoned by Masters who do not require any catalysts, they are summoned by Masters who share the similar traits as the Masters themselves, and depending on the Masters and Servants, they can easily become good pairs in battle due to how similar they are by personality and by traits. For example, if it's a Master whose traits are pure good and righteous, then a Servant will be summoned with similar traits that are just as pure and righteous as the Master's. However, if it's a Master whose traits are tainted and malicious…"

"…then a Servant will be summoned with the same nasty traits as the Master." I finished for her.

"Correct." said Saber, "And that's exactly what I mean. If Caster is just as vile and insane as you say he is, then it's possible that Caster was summoned by a Master whose just as malevolent as Caster is."

"Oh, man." I said, "Then that could be bad news for us. If his Master is bad and if he probably allowed Caster to do as he wished, I have a bad feeling that Caster could go around attacking people however he wants."

"Well, there is no need to worry about that." Saber reassured, "I highly doubt that he would attack now even if he wanted to. It's possible that thanks to your efforts, Caster's Master has called back Caster and is becoming cautious of what to do next. Besides, Masters and Servants do not attack people in daytime, and it's against the rules to involve outsiders into this, so I doubt that Caster and his Master will prey on innocent bystanders."

"Yeah, that's a good point." I said, "Still, after what happened today, we better be careful, too. Who knows what might happen if Servants like Caster appear again. He could attack and kill everyone he sees in sight without a care in the world. He even tried to get to Minna, and almost tried to kill me."

"True." said Saber, "But, thankfully, now that we're in an alliance with Mirai and the others, they'll be able to help keep her safe from all of this, and you'll have less to worry about."

"Yeah." I said, "But still, if Masters and Servants are going to come after us, and if they try to get to us through our friends and Minna, then I'll have to prepare for the worst. Even if they're helping me fight, I just can't stand doing nothing and be a liability. I need to fight too, and prepare myself to fight against other Masters and Servants. And if I'm gonna fight, I'll need to learn how to fight better, and practice on and improve my Magecraft."

I then began to think for a moment, as I said while thinking, "Let me see, I already have Mirai-senpai and the others to help me work on my Magecraft, so…" I then looked at Saber and asked, "Saber, if you don't mind, will you help teach and me how to fight?"

Saber looked at me with her eyebrows raised, as she said surprised, "Me?"

"Yeah." I said, "Compared to you, I'm not really good with a sword, and I was only able to win against Mirai-senpai's group because I was just lucky, but I can't just always rely on my luck to win in any battles that may come later on. I need someone with better experience with a sword than I do to help me better myself on being a fighter. I mean, I'd ask Ishikawa-san, but…uh…she's kinda a bit scary to talk to, if I'm being honest. So, will you help me, Saber?"

Saber looked at me for a moment, as she looked at me in the eyes, seeing that I was serious about this, before she nodded and said with a small smile, "If that is what you wish, then it would be my honor to help you in any way I can for you, Master."

I returned the small smile and said, "Thank you, Saber."

I then heard the bathroom door opened, as Minna called out, "Yuzu-kun, I'm done taking a shower! The bath's yours now!"

"Ah, thanks, Minna!" I called back, "I'll be right there!" I then got myself up before telling Saber, "After I'm done showering, I'll be sure to prepare a bath for you, Saber. Consider it a thank you from your Master."

Saber looked at me surprised for a bit, before she nodded and gave me a small smile and said, "Very well. I appreciate it, thank you, Master."

* * *

After we were done showering, we were changed into our pajamas. I was in my black shirt and blue short pants, Saber was in a full set of pajamas that was a long blue buttoned shirt and matching colored long pants, courtesy of me since I don't wear those set of pajamas anymore, while Minna was in her white night gown, which fits her figure very perfectly. Once we were fully changed and we brushed our teeth, we prepared ourselves to go to bed.

I took out a futon from my closet before setting it down on the floor for me to sleep in, while the girls can sleep on my bed for them to get comfortable in.

"Yuzu-kun…" I heard Minna called, making me turn to look at her sitting on my bed. When I looked at her, she looked like she was frowning, as if she seemed upset about something, as she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, before I answered while continuing to set up the futon, "Well, I'm setting up a futon for me to sleep in. I figured that since you'll be living here, and Elaina is a guest, I should at least let you get comfortable and let you sleep on the bed with Elaina, since there's enough room for two people to sleep in bed, and I can sleep on the floor to give you two some space. Besides, it's not so bad for two girls to share the same bed together, and I'm a guy, so I can't sleep on the same bed with a girl or two."

After I was finished setting up the futon, I prepared myself to go to sleep on the futon, before I heard Minna said softy, "Nein, don't do that…"

"Huh?" I said, looking back at her, as I saw that she still had that frowning look on her face.

"Please, don't do that, Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, softly, "Please, sleep in the bed with me…"

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, "W-Wait, you…you want me to…sleep with you?"

Minna nodded, stating that she does. Obviously, I knew that she didn't mean it in a sexual way, but still…

"But, Minna," I said, trying to reason a little, "You know I can't do that. You're a girl and I'm a guy, and guys and girls can't sleep in the same bed together. And besides, I…I don't wanna do anything bad to you while you're in your sleep, and I don't wanna that might hurt you."

Minna took my hand and gently held onto it with both of her, as she said softly with a gentle smile, "Nein, I don't mind. If it's you, then I'd be happy to sleep in bed with you, because I love you, Yuzu-kun. And it's okay, I know that you care for me very much and I know that would never hurt me, because you keep me safe. That's why, I want you to sleep in bed with me. Please, Yuzu-kun."

"Minna…" I said, "I…" I then felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see it was Saber, who was giving a genuine smile.

"I think you should sleep in bed with Minna, Yuzuru." said Saber, "And I'll sleep on the futon."

"Are you sure, Elaina?" I asked, "I mean, should you really be sleeping on the floor? It could be uncomfortable for you to sleep in."

"I'm alright." said Saber, reassuringly, "It does not matter for me where I sleep at, so long as I get some good rest, so I have no reason to mind about sleeping on the floor, and the futon is set right next to your bed, so I'll be sure to call on you when there's something wrong. And besides, it's like you said, you two are living together, while I'm a guest here, so if you want, you can just pretend I'm not here."

"Uh…okay." I said, before I looked at Minna, as she gave me a pleading look that I could never say no to.

"Please, Yuzu-kun." said Minna, gently, "Sleep with me in bed, please."

I looked at Minna for a moment, looking at her pleading eyes that was telling me to do so, before I sighed and said, "Well, alright, Minna. If it's what you want, I'll sleep with you tonight."

Minna smiled brightly at my answer and said happily, "Yay! I'm so happy!"

I smiled at her smile, glad to see that I was making her happy, before I looked at Saber who nodded to me and said, "I'll be going to bed. Goodnight, you two."

"Ja, goodnight, Elaina!" said Minna.

"Yeah, goodnight." I said.

We then got into bed to sleep. Saber was in her futon and was already fast asleep, while I was in bed sleeping next to Minna as we got close together. I was a bit nervous being in bed with Minna like this. I mean, it's nice, but it's also kinda nerve-wracking. But, Minna seemed okay with us like this, which was good for her. We were sleeping close together until our hands touched, and then Minna held onto mine.

"This is nice…" said Minna, softly, "Hey, Yuzu-kun? Do you remember that we always used to sleep together like this when we were kids back in Germany? I remembered that it was nice and warm when we were sleeping together like this, and we always held hands like this to know that we were there for each other, every night."

"Yeah…" I said, as I smiled at those memories, "I remember. The first time we did that was when it was cold outside, and we were freezing so much we needed to stay warm from the cold, and that was when we did that whenever we go to sleep together. The first time we did it, we were kinda nervous, but after that first time, we kept doing it until it became a habit."

"Ja…" said Minna, softly, "I always love doing that with you when we go to bed. It's because it was a really nice feeling, and it still is…"

"Yeah…" I said, "I feel the same way…it always felt nice to hold your hand when we sleep together…and it felt nice, knowing that you were there with me…even now, it feels nice, knowing you're here with me…"

"Me, too…" said Minna, softly, as she moved closer to me until she then went on top of me and hugged me, placing her face on my chest, "It always feels nice, holding your hand, to know that you are here with me…and, it makes me feel safe when I'm with you…I love you, Yuzu-kun, and I…I don't…I don't want us…to be separated again…I…I…"

"Minna?" I said, concerned. It sounded like she was suddenly crying, but she was doing what she can to hold it in.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I said, as I hugged her back for comfort, "What's the matter? Tell me."

Minna slowly moved up and looked at me, and to my surprise, I saw that she had tears in her eyes that could come out at any time while she still held her smile on her face, as she slowly and tearfully said, "I-I…I…I-I'm sorry…I-I didn't…I didn't want you…to see me like this…I tried…h-holding it in, because…I was…so happy to see you…and I-I d-didn't want…to show you, but…b-but I'm scared…" Now tears were starting to fall from her eyes as she said while crying, "I-I'm scared…o-of losing you…I'm scared that…w-we…we would be…be apart forever…and then, y-you…you would…forget about me…and, I…I just don't want…to lose you…I don't want us…to be separated again…"

"Minna…" I said.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" said Minna, tearfully, "B-But, I…I just…when I saw you…I was…I was so happy to see you again…a-after so long…a-a-and I…I was…so happy that…you still remember me…i-i-if y-you didn't…after so long…t-then I…I wouldn't know…what I would do…I would've been heartbroken…and…I can't lose you, Yuzu-kun…I've truly missed you…after so long…and I…I don't want…to separate with you again…"

Minna…I…I had no idea…that she really loves and misses me that much…after I was gone from her life leaving Germany to go back home. Well, to be honest, I…I feel the same way, I've missed her so much after so long, too. Because, Minna was the very first friend that I ever had in my life, and she really meant everything to me. I didn't wanna leave her just as she didn't want me to leave. When I left Germany, when I left Minna, I felt sad that I won't be able to see her or be there for her when we're gone away from each other, and when I came back home to Misaki Town, to Japan, I…I cried for Minna, as I wouldn't be able to see her again. I guess she must've cried for me, too. But, I remembered the promise that I made to her, to be her hero who will protect her, and if I wanted to hold that promise, I had to be strong, not just for myself, but for her, too. That's why I left my family and moved to Fuyuki City, to be strong and independent, so that I could be strong, strong enough to live up to that promise, and create a future for myself and for her. And that's why I kept the book, the King Arthur book that we always love to read together, and a picture of us when we were kids, to always remember her, to always remember the promise I made to her. Honestly, I was just as happy to see Minna again when she came here to Fuyuki, to Japan, and I was happy that I could be with her again, just like back at those times when we were children.

I rubbed the back of her smooth silver hair for comfort, before I used my thumb to wipe away the tears in her eyes, as I smiled gently to her and said gently, "It's okay, Minna, you don't need to worry anymore." I then held onto her a little tighter as I said, "Because, I'm not gonna leave you again. I'm not going to leave your side, I'll stay with you, and I'll protect you, like I promised I would. You're important to me, Minna, and I'm going to stay by your side and keep you safe."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna.

"For a long time, I've missed you, too." I said, "And there was nothing that could ever make me forget about you or the promise I made to you. To be honest, I was happy to see you too, after those long five years we were apart, and I couldn't stop thinking about you since. Well, uh…I-I don't know if I feel the same way about you, if I love you just as much as you love me, at least not yet, but…I will stay with you, no matter what. I'm not going to leave your side, and I'm not going to abandon you, I'll stay and protect you and keep you safe from any harm. And I promise…I'll make sure that we'll never be separated again."

"Will you do that?" Minna asked, "Do you promise?"

I smiled before I placed a kiss on her forehead, and said reassuringly, "Just leave everything to me. I promise, you'll be in good hands. I'll stay with you and protect you, so you'll never be sad or lonely again, and I'll make you happy, Minna."

Minna smiled at hearing my words, as a tear of joy fell from her eyes, as she said gently, with the same loving smile I know, "Thank you, Yuzu-kun. I know you will. I know you'll stay with me and you'll protect me. Because, you're the most kind and loving person I know. I love you, Yuzu-kun." She placed her head onto my chest as she said before falling to sleep, "I love you…so very much…"

I watched her as she began to sleep peacefully, with the happy and loving smile that I know. Yeah, this is how it should be. Minna, always with smiles on her face, the smiles that I want to protect.

"Yuzuru," I heard Saber said, "You don't have to do it alone."

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, as I turned to see that, although her eyes were still closed, Saber was giving out a small smile, hinting that she was awake, before I asked incredulously, "S-Saber?! Wait, how long have you been awake?! And…have you been listening to us the whole time?!"

Saber chuckled a little before she answered, while keeping her eyes closed, before she answered, "Not too long, and not entirely. I just couldn't help but feel your thoughts and feelings and overhear your conversation with Minna that I couldn't sleep, so I decided to hear what it was all about."

"Oh, I see." I said, as I remembered our pact, "Uh right, sorry. It's…easy to forget sometimes."

"There's no need to apologize." said Saber, "Besides, I was curious as to what was going on with you two, that's all." She then opened her eyes to look at me as she said, "Listen, Yuzuru, I know how much Minna means to you, and I know how much you dearly wish to protect her. Believe me, I do. But remember that you are just as important to her as she is to you and sacrificing yourself in order to protect her will not only scar her for life, but will also bring her sadness, pain, and sorrow. Protecting the one person you love is a noble act to do, but that is something you mustn't do on your own. There are people you can rely on, and if you can trust them just as much as they trust you, then they too will protect the one you truly care about."

"Saber…" I said.

"You are not alone to protect Minna." said Saber, with a small smile, "I am here with you, and I, too, will protect her with my sword, and with my life, and ensure that she stays in the rightful hands. I'm sure Mirai and the others will, too."

"Will you…really do that?" I asked.

"Of course." Saber nodded, "We are in this together, and we will keep her safe from the Grail War. You can place your trust in us. You can place your trust in me, for I am your sword, your Servant."

I looked at Saber as I became stunned by her words for a moment, before I smiled back and said, "Yeah, you're right. We're in this together. Thanks, Saber."

Saber nodded, before she closed her eyes and said, "Get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow. And don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her, and neither will Mirai and the others."

"Right, thank you, Saber." I said, before I held onto Minna and I closed my eyes to sleep, and said before letting my sleep take over, "Goodnight, Saber."

"Yes." Said Saber, before she fell to sleep, "Goodnight, Yuzuru."

* * *

Sakura's POV:

It was in the middle of the night out on the streets. Me, Mitsuzuri-senpai, Mr. Ryuudou, Makidera-senpai, Himuro-senpai, and Saegusa-senpai, as well as two other male teachers were at the front of the house that belonged to our old principal. It was a dark, old, and crooked house, that almost looked as if it was a haunted house.

"So, are you sure this really the place?" Mitsuzuri-sensei asked, creeped out by the house in front of us.

"Well, apparently, it is." said Principal Ryuudou, "As far as I know, this is the only place that he could be."

"B-B-B-B-B-But…but why here?!" said Makidera-senpai, shaking fearfully, while hiding behind Himuro-senpai, "I-I-I-I-It l-l-l-looks s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-c-creepy!"

"Oh, man up, Maki-no-ji." said Himuro-senpai, expressionlessly and nonchalantly, "It's not that creepy."

"K-Kane-chan, don't be so calm about it." said Saegusa-senpai.

"Yeah, I gotta agree." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "I don't think this is really the best place we should go to."

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore right now." I said, making everyone look at me, "Right now, we need to get inside the house to talk to him, and to see what's going on with him and what he's hiding from us, from our school. If we don't resolve this now, it's only going to get worse."

Mr. Ryuudou nodded and said, "You're right. We have to take action now, otherwise we'll never be able to resolve our situation. We need to get answers as soon as possible and find out what's going on. Whatever answers there are, it has to come from the old principal, and we need that answer to fix it now."

Everyone remained silent for a moment, before Mitsuzuri-senpai sighed and said, "Alright, fine. Let's get this over with. But if I don't like the answer we have, I'm gonna kick that old principal's ass! Besides, he deserved it after what he did letting that damn dumb bully, Shichirou, enter our school life and doing whatever he wants in our school!"

"You can do that after we're through finding answers." said Mr. Ryuudou, "Right now, we need to talk to him with words before violence. Is everyone ready?"

Everyone looked at each other and, even though they were reluctant and creeped out because of the house, they nodded to each other before turning to Mr. Ryuudou and nodded, signifying that they were ready.

"Alright." Mr. Ryuudou nodded, "I'll go and knock first. Everyone, wait here."

Then, Mr. Ryuudou was the first to step up in front of the door, before knocking on it and waiting for someone to answer. Yes. This is it. We have to find answers and end this mess! For our school! For our students, both new and old! And, for Shindou-kun! We have to know now…what is he hiding?!

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	10. Chapter 4

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Sakura's POV:

Mr. Ryuudou came up and knocked on the front door of the house of our former principal, and we stood and wait for him to answer the door. We kept on waiting for him to answer the door, but…there was none. Mr. Ryuudou knocked on the door again, hoping that he could hear it and answer the door. But…it was taking too long, and there still wasn't any answer.

"That's strange…" I said, suspiciously, "I wonder what's going on…?"

"Yeah, this is getting weird…?" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, who was just as suspicious as I was. "Why the hell isn't he answering…?"

"I dunno." said Makidera-senpai, with her hands behind her back, "Maybe he's not home."

"Well, it makes sense." said Himuro-senpai, "I don't see any lights inside the house, and it doesn't look like anyone's in there."

"If he's not home, then I wonder where he went off to instead of his home?" Saegusa-senpai wondered, "Did he maybe had to go see someone?"

I looked at the door for a bit longer as Mr. Ryuudou knocked on the door again and waited for answer, only for it to take too long and making him knock on the door and wait again. Again, there was no answer from inside. I narrowed my eyes at the door, as this was getting really suspicious. Something is definitely wrong!

I then heard Mitsuzuri-senpai grumbled before growled harshly, as she was getting impatient form waiting too long, before she shouted, "Alright, that's it! SCREW waiting! This is taking TOO FUCKING long! I'm breaking us in!"

She then began angrily stomping her way to the door, pushing away Mr. Ryuudou and the other male teachers. Mr. Ryuudou tried telling her to stop this instant, but she didn't listen, and kept on stomping until she was in front of the door, before she lifted her right foot up. Wait, is she…?

"Wait, are you-?!" said Mr. Ryuudou, shocked at what Mitsuzuri-senpai was about to do, before he shouted, trying to stop her, "H-Hey, WAIT!"

"OH, NO, I AIN'T GONNA WAIT ANOTHER FUCKING DAMN MINUTE OF THIS!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, angrily, before she moved her foot forward, and with a strong powerful force, she kicked the door opened real hard, resulting in breaking it down to pieces.

We had to cover our faces as dust started to form and spread out from where Mitsuzuri-senpai had kicked and from what she did. As soon as the dust cleared, Mr. Ryuudou shouted, "HEY, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT?! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO WAIT FOR HIM TO ANSWER, NOT BREAK IN!"

"HEY, AT LEAST I DID SOMETHING, INSTEAD OF JUST STANDING AROUND LIKE AN IDIOT!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted back, "BESIDES, IT WAS TAKING TOO LONG!"

"BUT, YOU DID NOT HAVE TO BREAK IN BY BREAKING THE DOOR, YOU IDIOT!" Mr. Ryuudou shouted, "THIS IS THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY! AT LEAST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE YOU ACT!"

"OH, SHUT UP!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, "HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T EVEN ANSWERED THE DOOR EVEN IF WE WAITED TOO LONG ANYWAY! BESIDES, IF THAT BASTARD OF A PRINCIPAL WASN'T HIDING ANYTHING, THEN WHY WOULDN'T HE AT LEAST ANSWER THE DOOR?! IF HE ISN'T ANSWERING, THEN HE'S OBVIOUSLY HIDING SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE THE GUY NOT COME OUT OF HIS HOME!"

"Uh…guys?" said Makidera-senpai, getting our attention.

"WHAT?!" both Mitsuzuri-senpai and Mr. Ryuudou shouted, turning to Makidera-senpai, who was looking at what's inside the building of the front door. And…she looked freaked out from the way her eyes were wide opened and she was shaking a little fearfully.

"Y-Y-Y-You…y-you might…w-w-wanna…l-l-look inside…t-t-the house…" said Makidera-senpai, fearfully, while shakenly pointed her finger inside, making us turn to look, and when we looked, what we saw was, to our shock, there was dry blood on the floor.

"What?" I thought, shocked, "No way…c-could someone have…died…?"

"Wait here." said Mr. Ryuudou, as he went inside first and checked on the bloodstain on the floor. He checked on it for a moment, before he said, "This looks to have been recent."

"Recent?" I said.

"Define "recent"." said Mitsuzuri-senpai.

"Likely about almost 2 months ago." Mr. Ryuudou answered, "Someone's been murdered here."

"What?!" said Himuro-senpai, shocked.

"A murder…?" said Saegusa-senpai, as she hid behind Himuro-senpai fearfully, "S-Someone…murdered someone here…?"

"Yes." said Mr. Ryuudou, as he got up, before he turned to the two male teachers and said, "You two, quickly call the police. We need to find out what happened. Once you do, wait outside for them to come."

The two male teachers nodded before they took out their phones and started calling the police.

"Okay, we got the police, now what?" Mitsuzuri-senpai asked.

"We check inside and see what happened here." said Mr. Ryuudou, "We need to find out what's going on and what caused this to happen."

"W-W-W-Wait!" said Makidera-senpai, as she hid behind Himuro-senpai fearfully, "We're going in there?! Inside a murder house?!"

"I-I-I-I don't think I wanna go in there!" said Saegusa-senpai, just as scared as Makidera-senpai was.

"There's no choice." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "We need to get in and see what the hell happened in this godforsaken house. Besides, that damn old principal could still be in here hiding somewhere behind this house!"

"She's right." I said, "If we don't go inside and figure out what happened, we'll never find any answers in what he's hiding from us, from our school. We need to know now."

Makidera-senpai groaned and said reluctantly, "O-O-Okay, fine. But, I'm still gonna hide here!"

Himuro-senpai sighed and said nonchalantly, "Man up, Maki-no-ji."

We then began to proceed forward and walk inside the house, and we saw that inside the house was all old and dark, and everywhere around the house looked like a complete mess as if it hasn't been cleaned up for years, with only having little light from the lights outside through the windows. It also smelled horrible, with mixed of stenches that was rotting the place, including the stench of someone who died here.

"Ugh…!" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, covering her nose, "Man, it reeks…! Who the hell lives in this dump?!"

"Try not to let it get to you." said Mr. Ryuudou, covering his mouth and nose, "We can't let something like this distract us."

"Yeah, right." said Mitsuzuri-senpai.

"I wonder what caused this stench?" said Himuro-senpai, "The smell of a dead body…"

"Uh…guys?" said Saegusa-senpai, getting our attention, as she shakenly pointed her finger at something and said fearfully, "I-I-I-I…I-I think…t-this might answer…our question…"

We turned and looked at where she was pointing at, and to our shock and horror, there in front of us was a dead body of an old woman, hair completely white and long and wrinkly, wearing white clothing and laying on the bed, and the body was already in a state of decomposing, as the skin of the body was already turned into broken dark grey and her muscles where already shrinking to the bones, and the clothes were already being torn apart and ragging. She almost completely looked like a skeleton.

"Oh, god…" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, shakenly.

Makidera-senpai began to groan, as she covered her mouth as if she was about to throw up, before Himuro-senpai conveniently took out a paper bag for her to throw up in. Makidera-senpai quickly took it before throwing up in it. Himuro-senpai and Saegusa-senpai both patted her on the back for comfort as she did so.

"What in the hell could've caused all this…?" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, as she clenched her fist in anger.

"Let's split up and look for clues." said Mr. Ryuudou, "We need to find out what caused all this."

We all nodded before everyone began to split up, some of us stayed in a group, while I stayed where I was looking at the dead body. Mitsuzuri-senpai turned to look at me and asked, "Hey, Sakura, aren't you coming?"

I stayed silent for a bit, looking at the body, before I said without looking away, "You go on ahead. I'll stay here and see what I can find from this dead body. Besides, there may be something here that could tell me what happened."

"Ah, okay." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "Just be careful, Sakura." She then left, leaving me to observe the body.

Once she was gone with everyone else, I sighed and thought, "I haven't done Magecraft in a very long time since I left the Matou home and the mage world, and I really don't want to use it again, since I swore that I would never use Magecraft again after I left. But…" I searched through my pocket before I took out flower petals of sakura trees and thought while looking at them, "If it'll help us get the answers that we need, then I'll have to do it."

I sighed and said quietly, "Okay, here goes." I then looked at the body of the dead old woman, before I brought my hand with sakura petals to me and silently chanted in German, "Suchen und Identifizieren (Search and Identify)." With that chant, I blew the petals with my mouth away towards the body of the old woman. Once they were blown away, the sakura petals began to glow and surrounded with pink energy, before they flew towards the body and began circling around the dead body, surrounding her and identifying her. As they did so, every information that they had gathered from the body came into my head, giving me identification of who this old woman is, or at least was.

"I see." I thought, as I gathered information in my mind, "This old woman is named Yasu Kobayashi, her age is 70 years old, she retired from work five years ago, had been diagnosed with an unknown illness, and has been in care by her son, Taichi Kobayashi. Wait…Kobayashi. That's the last name of our old principal, and he's about in his early 40's. Then, that old woman is his mother? But why would she die if he's been caring for her? What's more, why would she be murdered? Unless…did he perhaps killed her? If so, then why would he?"

I looked at the body again before I thought, "Perhaps we should see how he killed her first." I then took a step back before I brought my left hand towards the dead body of Mrs. Kobayashi, before I silently chanted in German, "Bühne und Reflektieren (Stage and Reflect)." Once I chanted that, the sakura petals returned to me in a form of a ball, before they went to where it leads to the kitchen and began to form a silhouette of a person, likely Mr. Kobayashi, who seems to be holding what appears to be a tray, with something that looked like a syringe, likely a medicine for his sick mother. I watched as the silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi began walking towards the bed where his mother rested at, ready to give her medication. But…there was something wrong, with the way he was moving, he…he looked like he was…shaking. I can tell with the way his hands were shaking while holding onto the tray. But, I could tell he wasn't shaking out of fear, it was…actually out of stress. But, stress from what? Taking care of his mother? Or something else? Or maybe…

I watched as the silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi came over to the silhouette of his mother resting in her bed. As soon as he did so, he stood where he was while he was looking at his mother, perhaps he was talking to her for a bit about something. The silhouette mother looked at him as if he was talking to him back, while his body was still shaking from stress, and it looked like she doesn't seem to see or know it, likely too tired or sick to even see it. Then, within an instant, as if he couldn't take it anymore, the silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi began lashing out as if yelling at her, before he took the syringe and threw the tray away and raised it above his head before he then stabbed his mother with it in the neck. The two then went into some sort of struggle, as the silhouette stayed where he was keeping the syringe stabbed in his mother's neck, while his mother tried to struggle against him, before finally, they stopped their struggle, and his mother's body went limp and motionless, becoming just like what the corpse is now. The silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi then began shaking uncontrollably as he stepped away from the now dead body of the silhouette of once was his mother fearfully, before he shakenly looked at the weapon that he had just used and began to look as if he was screaming. The silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi then began running away towards the kitchen and threw away the syringe that he used into the trash, before running away to somewhere. After that, the silhouette of Mr. Kobayashi stopped and ten dispersed into sakura petals, ending the scene.

After the scene was over, I went over to the kitchen where he threw the syringe in the trash. I found the trash can before I looked in the trash to see if the syringe was still there, only to see that it wasn't there anymore, and the trash can was completely empty. Nothing. He must've thrown it away along with the trashes at some point. I then looked at the table to see that there were syringes and medicines on the table. They must've been for his mother since she was sick. I went over to look at them for a minute, before I took a look at each of their prescriptions and effects of these medical drugs. Most of them were pills, some syringes had medicines for seizures, others had green liquids, likely medicines for the unknown illness that his mother had. I looked at each and every one of these medicine for a moment, before I set them down and sighed.

I then went back to where the dead body was and began thinking, "Okay, based on what I've seen, Mr. Kobayashi was likely stressed out about something to even think about caring about his mother before killing her." I looked at the dead body of his mother and thought, "I don't entirely know their relationship, but caring for his mother couldn't have caused him stress, so it's possible that it only caused his stress to increase. Which means, that something else entirely must've brought him to a state of stress. The question is, what could've caused him to build stress." I then looked at the directions that the others went and thought, "Maybe the others might've found something." I then went off to see what the others had found on their end. I began starting with Makidera-senpai, Himuro-senpai, and Saegusa-senpai.

* * *

I found Makidera-senpai, Himuro-senpai, and Saegusa-senpai in a room that's likely a guest room. Makidera-senpai and Saegusa-senpai were looking at papers on the table while Himuro-senpai was looking at the picture frame with a photo of something. They had…troubled and concerned looks on their faces.

I then went in and asked them, "Well, what did you find? Did you find anything good?" I knew from the way they looked wasn't exactly good news, but I had to ask just to confirm.

Makidera-senpai and Saegusa-senpai looked at me with their troubled and concerned looks, before Saegusa-senpai answered, "No, not entirely. It's actually a bit…more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Himuro-senpai then approached me with the picture frame in her hand before she handed it to me and said, "Here, take a look at this picture."

I took the picture frame that Himuro-senpai gave me and then took a look at the photo, and in the photo was, to my surprise, a family; one of them was most likely Mr. Kobayashi, although he looks a lot younger than we know, his mother standing next to him, a woman with long black hair and green eyes, likely his wife, and four children, two preteen boys and one toddler little girl, while one of them was an infant wrapped in a blanket while being held in the hands of the child's mother. This family, they looked…so happy.

I then looked at the three and asked, "Is this…Mr. Kobayashi's family?"

Himuro-senpai sighed and said while shaking her head, "It was."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Was? What do you mean? What happened to them?"

Makidera-senpai came over to me with a document paper before handing to me to read it and said, "Well, apparently, they divorced like nine years ago. His wife divorced him and took the kids away with her and left him and his mother to move somewhere else, and god knows where they are anymore."

"I see." I said, as I read the document paper.

"His ex-wife was named Yuuko Mori, before she became married to him and became a Kobayashi." said Himuro-senpai, "But after divorcing the guy and left him, she became a Mori again, so it's most likely that she left him to either go back to the family where she came from or remarried to someone else."

"I see." I said, before I looked at Saegusa-senpai and asked, "Was there any reason why she would divorce and left him, and why she would choose to leave his side and take their children with her? Was it because he had a bad relationship with her?"

Saegusa-senpai shook her head before she gave me another document paper and said, "No, It's the opposite, actually. They had a healthy and stable relationship before they divorced, and his wife left. But…well, apparently, Mr. Kobayashi had caused something really bad that was going on for a long amount of time, until eventually, it led him to cause a huge debt that he had to pay back. This debt was so huge and impossible to clear out, and it was something that he had to clear out with money, which was not so simple with the amount of money he was making. In fact, this debt that he caused was so huge and so impossible, that his wife Yuuko wanted nothing to do with it, and she left out of fear of it."

"I see." I said, as I finished reading the document, "So, that must be it."

"Hmm?" said Makidera-senpai, confused, "What? What is it?"

"This." I said, tapping the documents regarding about Mr. Kobayashi and his debt, "This must be what caused him to become weak minded and stressed out about everything. Think about it, Mr. Kobayashi was always weak minded and unwilling to do anything because he was already becoming weak and afraid, and he was being that way because the stress of going through all the hard work of trying to clear out that impossible debt that he made. He never stood up nor tried to show any sense of strength, nor even tried to do anything about the situations of the other's lives, because he was weak and afraid while all this was going on about him. And caring for his sick mother on daily bases only worsened his weak-minded condition."

"Huh." Sad Himuro-senpai, think for a moment, "Come to think of it, before Mr. Ryuudou showed up, he always stayed in his office and never leaves, let alone answer the door whenever any of us knocked."

"Yeah, and when I tried to make a report about Shichirou and the bullying that he was doing, he just ignored it." said Saegusa-senpai, "I thought that he didn't care about what was going at all, but when Issei-san showed up, we learned that he was actually being blackmailed by him, and he was allowing Shichirou to do whatever he wanted because he was afraid of him and what he'd tell to people."

"Now it makes sense." said Makidera-senpai, "Even I thought it was weird. When I came over to tell him about the parents of every students were giving out complaints about what was happening with their children, he just straight up brushed it off like it wasn't important. Hell, he was even ignoring every call that the parents were making to him and was even denying to the police that what was happening to the students wasn't true! Now, it all make sense! He was being manipulated into doing these things!"

"By Shichirou, who no doubt knows what Mr. Kobayashi is hiding from us and the whole school." I concluded, "And it must have something to do with his debt."

"Yeah, but…that can't possibly be it." said Himuro-senpai, "We may know about his debt and all, but what does that have to do with our school? There has to be more to it than that."

"Yeah…" said Makidera-senpai, "And the only way to find out is to find damn old principal, and god knows he could be anywhere."

We were all silent for a moment, thinking about it, before I said, "I'll go look for Mitsuzuri-senpai Mr. Ryuudou and see what they found. Let's meet up back at the living room afterwards."

The three nodded at that before they each left the room one by one until it was just me, as I looked around the room, then at the picture of Mr. Kobayashi and his once happy family, before I decided to leave the room to go and look for Mitsuzuri-senpai and Mr. Ryuudou, to see what they've found.

* * *

I went upstairs and found Mitsuzuri-senpai and Mr. Ryuudou in another room that looked like an office room for Mr. Kobayashi, but it almost looked abandoned and hasn't been used for a long time. It was dark, messy, dusty, even the desk was filled with dirt and some unnecessary things on it, the computer and its equipments were old, unused, and outdated, and the shelves were completely empty, with the only things on them were boxes of letters, and the only source of light this room had was a lamp. Mitsuzuri-senpai was at the shelves looking at two of the letters, while Mr. Ryuudou was checking to see if the computer could still work despite being outdated.

I walked over Mitsuzuri-senpai before I asked, "Mitsuzuri-senpai, did you find anything?"

Mitsuzuri-senpai turned to me, before handing me one of the letters to read, and said, "Yeah, I found these. These are letters from the debt collection company. Apparently, our old principal has been receiving these letters regarding about the due dates of collecting debt. He's been trying to find ways to pay them off, at least once a month, but this debt seemed to be too high for him to handle. Hell, not even his money in his bank account could help him out of it, the guy tried that, but it only seemed to have made it worse."

"I see." I said, as I read the debt collecting letter, "So, he's been receiving these letters as reminder that his payment for his debt his due, but gaining money seemed to have been going very bad for him lately, causing him huge amount of stress."

"Yeah, it's likely why that old man's been weak minded to do everything." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "And what's worst, he hasn't been making any progress, and he's been trying to go out and borrow some money from people that he knows, but it just made things even worse, because he had to pay those people back, and it only ended up becoming part of the debts he made. His debt had been only increasing by the day, and it's been putting him on edge."

"That's bad." I said, as I finished reading the letter, "Could it be that this was something he was hiding from us, and what Hashimoto was using to blackmail him?"

"It's possible, yeah." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "But we still don't know how it's related to our school yet. There's gotta be more to it than that."

I then turned to Mr. Ryuudou, who had apparently just given up on trying to fix the computer, and I asked, "Mr. Ryuudou, is there anything you can do to find anything?"

He sighed and said, "I wish I could, but this damned thing is just too old to even operate. I can't even turn it on. The cords and wires are connected, but there's still nothing and everything else is completely off. The screen won't even turn on no matter what I do."

"Well, that figures." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "It must've been broken for a long time. Not surprising, since it's pretty outdated and all. Plus, even if we did try to fix it, I doubt we'll find anything on the old computer, since we don't have anything that could bring out any information from it."

"I agree." I said, "If we can't find anything in it, we'll just have to get answers from Mr. Kobayashi himself."

"Yeah." said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "And wherever the hell he is, let's hope he's in better shape than this house. It may not look like it, but this place is gonna fall apart and be taken down to pieces anytime soon. If we don't leave now, this house will break down and we'll be crushed."

"Yeah, I think you're right." I said, as I noticed the cracks on the wall, "We can't stay here any longer."

"Right." said Mr. Ryuudou, before asking, "And, what about the body of the old woman?"

Ah, that's right. Mr. Kobayashi's mother. I wonder what we should…no, I don't think there's anything we can do about it.

I sighed before I answered, "If she's dead, then there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, she's already a corpse at this point, and we can't do anything about a corpse body. And…if this place gets taken down and she gets buried in it, at least she'll have some rest in peace here, in her home."

Mitsuzuri-senpai sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess you have a point. I mean, it's not like we can give it a proper burial. And besides, the police will probably be here by now, so we'll have to explain to them sooner or later."

"Right." said Mr. Ryuudou, "We did call them, so we'll have to let them know what we've found. Let's go."

We all nodded before we decided to walk out and leave the room, walking on our way back to the way we came. As we did so, Mitsuzuri-senpai stopped me by placing a hand on her shoulder, making me turn to look at her as she was looking in another direction. Mr. Ryuudou was the only one who had left to go downstairs, leaving the two of us alone.

"Hey, Sakura?" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, "Did you turned on the lights and looked into this room while on the way here?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, before I turned to look at where she was looking at. To my surprise, there was a door that led to another room, quite possibly the bedroom, and inside I saw the lights were being turned on. I then answered, "No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I must've passed by it without noticing it was there." Wait a second…the lights are on inside…wait, no way, it can't be…!

Realization had quickly hit me, before I looked at Mitsuzuri-senpai as she looked at me with the same realization look as I was having. We then gave each other serious looks before we nodded, and then went to prepare ourselves by going towards the door before we placed our backs on the wall on each sides of the door. Mitsuzuri-senpai picked up a metal stick for her to use as a weapon to be ready for self-defense. I picked up a broomstick nearby, doing the same. We stood where we were and waited for a moment, before we looked at the door and then at each other. Mitsuzuri-senpai nodded first, signaling to me, asking if I was ready. I nodded back in response, signaling I was ready. Mitsuzuri-senpai smirked, satisfied with my answer, before she quickly turned to the door and, with a strong yell and brute force, she kicked the door open, breaking it down in the process, before we quickly got inside the room and readied ourselves to fight, only to see that…there was no one in here, just an empty bed.

We became confused by this, before Mitsuzuri-senpai noticed something, and quickly said while pointing at something, "Sakura, look!"

I quickly looked at where Mitsuzuri-senpai was pointing at, and saw that there was a window that had us opened before we got in. Wait a second, an open window…? No way, could he have…?

I quickly went to the opened window and looked outside, trying to find him and where he went. He couldn't have jumped out of the window, so how did he get out? Suddenly I felt something that was wooden, and I quickly noticed that there was a wooden ladder that goes from this top floor all the way down out to the sidewalk.

"Oh, no!" I thought, shocked, "Dammit, he must've used this ladder to escape through the window! And if he escaped through this window, then he must've known we were coming for him! Dammit, he could be anywhere! But, he couldn't have gone far, could he?! Where could he be?!"

I quickly looked around to try and find him and to see where he could've gone to. Suddenly, when I looked to my right, I quickly noticed a person that was running far away from here. Wait, could that be…?

"There's one way to find out!" I silently said, before I quickly and silently chanted in German, "Suche und Ansicht! Verfolgen und Identifizieren! (Search and View! Track and Identify!)" With that chant, a gust of wind blew with sakura petals and they blew towards the figure, search for him, tracking and identifying who it is. Then, several petals appeared before they swirled around in a circle, revealing to me a screen. Within the screen, there was a man with black hair wearing a dirty and messed up suit, running away while holding onto a briefcase that had papers and documents regarding about our school inside. Yes, there was no doubt about it! It's Mr. Kobayashi, and he's trying to escape!

I got back in and turned to Mitsuzuri-senpai with a serious face, for I quickly pointed out and quickly said, "He's this way! He's trying to get away!"

"WHAT?!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, "Oh, SHIT!"

Without needing to ask anymore, she quickly turned around before she began running, hurrying herself to the stairs. I began to run as well to follow suit. We quickly got down stairs before we began to run out towards the front door, where Mr. Ryuudou was standing outside waiting with the trio for the police to arrive.

He turned to us and noticed we were running, before he shouted, "H-Hey, what're you two doing?! Don't you know that-?!"

Mitsuzuri-senpai quickly stopped herself before she shouted, while quickly pointing at the direction Mr. Kobayashi was heading to, "Issei, there's no time for that! That damn old principal's running away! He's heading that way to escape!"

"W-Wait, WHAT?!" Mr. Ryuudou shouted, shocked, "B-But, how-?!"

"We don't have time!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, "We need to hurry and get him quick! Hurry, and get the police here, NOW!" She then went off and began running to where Mr. Kobayashi was going.

I looked at Mr. Ryuudou and the trio before I nodded to them, and then began to run and follow Mitsuzuri-senpai. We can't let him get away! I ran as fast as I could while I was behind Mitsuzuri-senpai, as she was running to catch Mr. Kobayashi. He was far, but we were catching up to him as he seemed to be slowing down, as if he was getting tired from running. Yes! I think at this rate, we'll be able to catch him! But, before we could get to him, he suddenly quickly turned and ran to the right, entering the alleyway. Oh, no!

Mitsuzuri-senpai quickly stopped us and shouted, while pointing at the alleyway that was nearby us, "SAKURA, THIS WAY!"

"Right!" I said, before we both began to run in to the alleyway.

We ran as fast as we could into the alleyway, trying to catch up to him as he was in the alleyway, before we stopped at a two-way direction, and then quickly ran to the left since he was ahead of us and that direction would lead us to him. While we kept on running, we suddenly spotted Mr. Kobayashi running towards us. He probably didn't know that going where he was going was going to lead him to us, as he suddenly panicked and then quickly ran to his left, trying to get away from us.

"Sakura, quick, take this path!" Mitsuzuri-senpai quickly pointed at the corner of another path, "We'll have to corner him and make sure he doesn't get away!"

"Right!" I said, as I quickly turned to that path and began running, while Mitsuzuri-senpai kept on where she was going before she ran after him in the path he was heading.

I hurriedly ran in the direction that I was going as fast as I could, before I found another corner that leads to another path of the alleyway, and I quickly turned and ran to that path. Hopefully, this path will help me cut him off course and have him cornered. Thankfully, while I kept running, I found Mr. Kobayashi running towards me while holding onto his suitcase tightly, before he saw me and panicked, and then I managed to stop him in his track by stopping and then raised both my arms up to block him. He quickly turned around and tried to go back to the way he came but was quickly stopped by Mitsuzuri-senpai as she managed to catch up to him and them blocked his way. I then heard foots steps behind me before hearing some heavy pants as if trying to catch their breath. I turned my head a little to see that it was Mr. Ryuudou as he had managed to catch up to us in time, before I looked back at Mr. Kobayashi, who was shaking and panicking in fear, holding tightly onto the suitcase. Whatever's inside, it must be related to our school.

He looked frantically, trying to look for a way to escape, before he quickly spotted a steel fence that was to our right, and then to run away by going to the fence to get over it and escape. We tried to move to get to him, but Mr. Kobayashi, out of panic, quickly kicked the trash cans with full force at us at both sides, attempting to hit us with them. Thankfully, before the trash cans could hit us, Mr. Ryuudou quickly stepped in front of me and kicked it back with a spin kick, knocking it away, while Mitsuzuri-senpai dodged it by stepping aside, letting the trash can pass by her, hitting the other trashes. We then quickly turned to see that Mr. Kobayashi was already at the steel fence, panicking while trying to climb his way to get over it.

Before he could get over the fence, we heard Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, "Hey, Issei!" We turned to see that she was holding onto an old ball before she threw it at us while she shouted, "Quick! Think fast!"

Mr. Ryuudou quickly saw what she was doing, before he quickly jumped and twirled around before he kicked the ball, aiming directly at Mr. Kobayashi before it hit him, causing him to suddenly stagger and then fall off the fence onto his back, dropping the briefcase that he was holding on the ground, before it broke open and all the documents that were in there were dispersed out.

Mr. Ryuudou and I then quickly came over to Mr. Kobayashi, who tried to get up and fearfully tried to get away from us. As we got closer to him, he then suddenly drew out a pocket knife from his pocket and, out of panic, tried to aim and stab one of us with it. Thankfully, though, Mr. Ryuudou was able to see that and quickly caught his arm that was holding onto a knife before he twisted his arms, quickly went behind him, and then locked Mr. Kobayashi onto the wall, holding him, as Mr. Kobayashi struggled to try to get out.

"NOOO! NO! NOOO!" Mr. Kobayashi shouted, panicking, "NO, GOD! PLEASE, LET ME GO! LET ME GO, GOD! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Stay where you are, dammit!" Mr. Ryuudou shouted, holding onto Mr. Kobayashi onto the wall tighter, "We need to know what's going on with you! Tell us why you were running from us!"

I went over to them and said to Mr. Kobayashi, while I tried to calm him down, "Mr. Kobayashi, please calm down, we're not here to hurt you, we just came here for information! Please, we need to know, why were you running away from us?! What're you hiding?!"

"NOOO!" he kept screaming and panicking, struggling to break free, "LET GO! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE!"

"Mr. Kobayashi!" I shouted at him, "What is going on with you?! We just came for answers! What are you hiding from us?! What is it you're SO afraid of?!"

"Answer the question, goddammit!" Mr. Ryuudou yelled, keeping him locked on the wall as much as possible.

"Hey, what this?" I heard Mitsuzuri-senpai said, making me turn to where she is. She was at where the suitcase that had broken opened was, before she picked up some documents on the ground to look at it.

"NOOO!" Mr. Kobayashi panicked, as he tried to break free, "NO! NO! NO! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM THAT! THAT'S-!"

Mr. Ryuudou quickly pushed him back against the wall and yelled, "DON'T MOVE! STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!"

"NOOO!" Mr. Kobayashi screamed, "LET GO! LET GO OF ME!"

I looked at Mr. Kobayashi being held by Mr. Ryuudou for a moment before I turned and went over to Mitsuzuri-senpai, who was looking and reading the documents. When I looked at her, she had her eyes completely wide opened, and she had a look of shock, as if what she was reading in the documents, and just by looking at her, I just knew that it was not good news. Then, her expression turned from complete shock to complete rage, as she furiously turned around and then furiously walked over to Mr. Kobayashi as she yelled angrily, "YOU DAMN…FUCKING BASTARD!" She then forcibly pushed Mr. Ryuudou away to grab Mr. Kobayashi by his shirt, as she furiously lifted him and forcibly brought his face to hers as she angrily yelled, "ALL OF THE SCHOOL'S BUDGET HAVE ALL BEEN STOLEN AND GONE BY YOU?! YOU FUCKING USED UP ALL OUR SCHOOL'S MONEY…JUST SO YOU COULD CLEAR OUT YOUR FUCKING DEBT, AND NOW OUR SCHOOL'S AT THE RISK OF SHUTING DOWN!"

Hearing what Mitsuzuri-senpai said about what Mr. Kobayashi had done shocked both me and Mr. Ryuudou, as we both shouted in complete shock and horror, "WHAT?!"

We looked at Mr. Kobayashi as he had a fearful expression on his face, before he screamed out loud, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" He then pushed away Mitsuzuri-senpai with whatever strength that he had left, pushing her away towards us, knocking the three of us down. We tried to get ourselves back up before we looked at where Mr. Kobayashi was and saw an awful sight. Mr. Kobayashi…he…he stabbed himself…with that knife…in his neck…! After that, he…he pulled out the knife out of his neck…and then blood began to spray out from his neck…everywhere…! We just stood where we were, looking horrified at what was happening in front of us. Then, once the blood from his neck had gone down, Mr. Kobayashi went limp, and he fell to his knees before falling limp onto the ground face front. He…he wasn't moving anymore…Mr. Kobayashi…was dead now. We got ourselves back up before we went over to look at the dead body of the once Mr. Kobayashi. His blood…was pooling everywhere.

"My, god…!" said Mr. Ryuudou, shocked and horrified.

"Dammit…!" Mitsuzuri-senpai cursed, tightening her fists in anger, "I can't believe he did that…!"

I then heard footsteps coming over to us, and I turned around to look and saw that the trio had just arrived.

"Hey, guys!" said Makidera-senpai, as she came over to us, "We came as soon as we could! Did you guys-WHOA!" Makidera-senpai suddenly noticed the dead body that was in front of us and then began to freak out before she quickly went behind Saegusa-senpai, who was just as shocked and horrified as Makidera-senpai.

"Oh, my god…!" said Saegusa-senpai, shocked and horrified, while she covered her mouth with both her hands.

"What in the world happened here?!" Himuro-senpai shouted.

Mr. Ryuudou kept looking at the dead body of Mr. Kobayashi for a moment, before he sighed, calming himself down, before he said, "I'll explain later. Are the police and ambulance here?"

"Just outside, waiting for us." said Himuro-senpai.

"Good." said Mr. Ryuudou, "Lead me to them so that I can bring him here. I'll explain to them on the way, they need to know what happened now!"

The trio nodded before they began to lead Mr. Ryuudou outside so that he could meet with the police and ambulance. Mitsuzuri-senpai and I stayed where we were, looking at the dead body of Mr. Kobayashi for a moment, before I turned to Mitsuzuri-senpai and asked, "Is it true…? He…he stole all of our school's money, to try to pay off his debt?"

Mitsuzuri-senpai remained quiet for a moment, before she handed me the documents that regarded our school's budget and said with what little anger that she still had, "Yeah, and nobody, not even the board of directors knew about it. I don't know how the bastard did it, but he must've been desperate to plan out the whole thing of stealing money. Judging by that knife he was holding, I think I can only imagine what he did to get money from our school, and likely in secret. Now our school's at a risk of shutting down for good!"

"Oh, no…!" I said, shocked, as I read what was on the documents, and everything about it was not good. And what's worse, she was right. Our whole school will shut down…within seven days! I looked at Mitsuzuri-senpai, as I gave her an expression asking, 'what should we do?" Mitsuzuri-senpai looked at me before shaking her head, saying that even she doesn't know what to do. I looked at her in complete shock, before looking back at the documents. Oh, no…! This is bad…! At this rate, Homurahara will…!

Mitsuzuri-senpai placed a hand on my shoulder, making me turn to look at her, as she said solemnly, "Sakura, c'mon, we gotta go now. We can't stay here any longer. We should let the police handle this."

I looked at Mitsuzuri-senpai for a moment, seeing that she was deeply serious in her eyes, before I sighed and nodded slowly and said quietly, "Okay…"

Mitsuzuri-senpai nodded before she wrapped her arm around my shoulder as a sign of comfort, before she began to lead me out to leave the alleyway. I looked back for a moment to look at the dead body of Mr. Kobayashi one last time, before I looked away and began to walk away with Mitsuzuri-senpai to leave the dark alleyway, knowing that the next morning…was not going to be good news for us, for our school.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Morning had arrived as the morning sunlight began shining through our window, shining in front of my eyes and forcing me to wake up and open my eyes. Man, I really feel tired. I then felt something heave on top of me and I looked down to see what was on me. Or rather, who was on me. I looked and saw that on top of me was Minna, who was sleeping soundly, and with that smile on her face. I was surprised for a bit before I remembered what happened last night. Yeah, that's right. Last night, we were sleeping together and then…

* * *

Last night:

Minna was hugging me tightly as she placed her face on my chest, before she slowly moved up and looked at me, and I saw that she had tears in her eyes that could come out at any time while she still held her smile on her face, as she slowly and tearfully said, "I-I…I…I-I'm sorry…I-I didn't…I didn't want you…to see me like this…I tried…h-holding it in, because…I was…so happy to see you…and I-I d-didn't want…to show you, but…b-but I'm scared…" Tears were starting to fall from her eyes as she said while crying, "I-I'm scared…o-of losing you…I'm scared that…w-we…we would be…be apart forever…and then, y-you…you would…forget about me…and, I…I just don't want…to lose you…I don't want us…to be separated again…"

"Minna…" I said.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" said Minna, tearfully, "B-But, I…I just…when I saw you…I was…I was so happy to see you again…a-after so long…a-a-and I…I was…so happy that…you still remember me…i-i-if y-you didn't…after so long…t-then I…I wouldn't know…what I would do…I would've been heartbroken…and…I can't lose you, Yuzu-kun…I've truly missed you…after so long…and I…I don't want…to separate with you again…"

I rubbed the back of her smooth silver hair for comfort, before I used my thumb to wipe away the tears in her eyes, as I smiled gently to her and said gently, "It's okay, Minna, you don't need to worry anymore." I then held onto her a little tighter as I said, "Because, I'm not gonna leave you again. I'm not going to leave your side, I'll stay with you, and I'll protect you, like I promised I would. You're important to me, Minna, and I'm going to stay by your side and keep you safe."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna.

"For a long time, I've missed you, too." I said, "And there was nothing that could ever make me forget about you or the promise I made to you. To be honest, I was happy to see you too, after those long five years we were apart, and I couldn't stop thinking about you since. Well, uh…I-I don't know if I feel the same way about you, if I love you just as much as you love me, at least not yet, but…I will stay with you, no matter what. I'm not going to leave your side, and I'm not going to abandon you, I'll stay and protect you and keep you safe from any harm. And I promise…I'll make sure that we'll never be separated again."

"Will you do that?" Minna asked, "Do you promise?"

I smiled before I placed a kiss on her forehead, and said reassuringly, "Just leave everything to me. I promise, you'll be in good hands. I'll stay with you and protect you, so you'll never be sad or lonely again, and I'll make you happy, Minna."

Minna smiled at hearing my words, as a tear of joy fell from her eyes, as she said gently, with the same loving smile I know, "Thank you, Yuzu-kun. I know you will. I know you'll stay with me and you'll protect me. Because, you're the most kind and loving person I know. I love you, Yuzu-kun." She placed her head onto my chest as she said before falling to sleep, "I love you…so very much…"

* * *

Now:

Minna slept soundly as I watched her sleep with that smile on her face. Yeah, that's the smile that I want to see all the time. Seeing smile like that…really makes me smile, too. I want her to smile all the time. That's why…I have to protect her. Because, she means everything to me.

"Hmm?" I thought, feeling something soft on my chest, "Wait…what feels so soft?"

I looked down to where it felt soft and, to my complete surprise and shock, I saw something on top of my chest that was…the biggest sight to see, and I literally mean the biggest.

"Ahhh!" I screamed in thoughts, "O-O-O-Oh my god! H-H-Her…h-h-her b-b-boobs…her boobs…t-t-they…t-t-t-t-they're…t-t-they're…t-t-they're…h-her boobs…HER BOOBS ARE ON TOP OF ME!"

Oh, my god! I can just literally see it! Her chest was literally in front of me, barely covered by her shirt, and showing off her cleavages! They literally look like they could pop out any second! And Minna, she really looks defenseless, looking like that! My god, though, now that I'm this close to her, I can really see that she does have bigger boobs than Matou-sensei. They really do look big and they feel so soft that I could even feel it through my shirt I'll bet they'll feel just as soft or even feel softer than mar-wait, WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN THINKING?! I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HAVING THESE THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW! I GOTTA GET OUTTA THIS SITUATION! Okay, okay, okay, okay! R-Relax, self! J-Just, calm down! Calm down. You can get outta this. Okay. Relax. Relax. Okay. Here we go.

I slowly tried to move myself to free my arms that were being wrapped around by Minna's. It was a bit hard, but slowly and surely, I was able to free my right arm from her hold. I then slowly freed my other arm, making me able to move my arms, before I then slowly tried to grab both of Minna's arms on both of my sides, as I tried to slowly, while gently, picked Minna up to get her off me, while doing my best to ignore the softness of her breasts. As much as I…love breasts and I love how soft Minna's breasts were, so much that…I feel…l-l-like I wanna touch them…I can't do that, not when she's sleeping! Plus, I'll feel like I'm hurting her, so…yeah. A-Anyway, once I got her off of me, I slowly and gently moved her to my left, slowly and gently laying her down on the bed to her side, placing her head on a pillow, where she could be comfortable. After that was done, I sighed in relief, one from holding onto my hormones to do anything bad to her, and two from trying to move her off of me. I then placed my blanket onto her, before looking at her sleeping face. Just like before, she looked so…peaceful when she's sleeping, and her smile was still on her face. I smiled at that while looking at her for a moment, before I decided to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get myself ready.

* * *

After I was done brushing my teeth and got myself into my school uniform, I went back to my bedroom to wake up both Minna and Saber. As I got into my room, I saw that Saber was already awake, as she got up from the futon. She then noticed me and said, "Good morning, Yuzuru."

"Good morning, Saber." I said, "The bathroom's ready, so you go on ahead and get ready. I'll wake up Minna."

"Of course." Saber nodded, "Thank you, Master."

Once Saber had left to go to the bathroom, I turned to where Minna was still in my bed, sleeping peacefully. I then went over to her to wake her up. As soon as I got close, I placed my hand on her shoulder and gently shook her to wake her up as I said, "Hey, Minna, it's morning. C'mon, it's time to get up."

Minna only groaned a little, not waking up from me shaking her.

I sighed and said, "Minna, if you don't wake up soon, we're gonna be late for school." I then shook her again and said, "C'mon, wake up."

Minna groaned a little again, moving away from my hand a little, before she mumbled in her sleep, "Yuzu-kun…I love…you…Yuzu-kun…I love you so…much…please…kiss me…"

"Ah, she must be dreaming." I said. I sighed again before I smiled and said, "I think I'll let her sleep a little more. In the meantime, I'll go prepare breakfast."

I then began to leave the room to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. But, before I could leave to the door, suddenly, I felt a hand grabbed hold of mine before I was suddenly pulled back, making me turn around and making me land back in the bed. I groaned as I tried to get myself back up from the bed. I then began to open my eyes, before suddenly, I looked down to see Minna's face was in front of me, before I suddenly began to see the situation and the position that I was in. I was…oh, my god! Oh, my freakin' GOD! I'm freaking literally on top of Minna! Okay, this is bad! This is really, REALLY bad! Oh, man! I'm freakin' on top of Minna! And what's more, her face is so close to mine! Oh, man, this is really bad! This is not the best situation that I really wanna be in! I gotta get outta this!

But before I could even do anything, Minna was already beginning to wake up. Oh, great! Why now?! When Minna opened her eyes and woke up, she looked and saw that I was right in front of her, and on top of her in the bed. As we were facing each other, me looking down at her, and Minna looking at me on top of her, there was an awkward silent as we looked at the situation we were in. Oh, no! This is bad! This is really awkward!

It became completely silent for a moment, before Minna smiled and said sweetly, "Good morning, Yuzu-kun."

"H-Huh?" I thought, confused, "W-Wait…what? H-Huh?! Wait, she's…not freaking out, she's…not screaming or…affected by this at all?" I didn't know what to say about this as I was bewildered by what just happened, before I said awkwardly, "Uh…g-good morning, Minna." I then made an apologetic face and said sorta nervously, "Um…u-uh…s-s-sorry about this. Um…a-are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm, I'm okay." Minna nodded, "Ah, b-but, um…Y-Yuzu-kun, your…your right…hand…"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "My…right…hand…what about my right ha-?" I looked down to see where my right hand was, only to realize that…that…oh…oh, my god! OH, MY GOD! M-M-M-M-My right hand! My hand's groping on one of Minna's breasts! I'M FREAKIN' GROPING ON HER BOOBS!

As soon as I saw where my hand was touching and what I was feeling, I began freaking out and screamed out loud, before I quickly pulled my hand away and quickly got off of Minna, making myself fall off the bed, before I quickly got on my knees and bowed, and I shouted, panicking, "I'M SO SORRY, MINNA! I'M SO SORRY! I DID NOT MEAN TO DO THAT, I SWEAR! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

"Oh, god, I can't believe I actually did that!" I thought, "I touched Minna's boobs! Oh, man, she probably hates me now! A-Although, t-they did feel really big, soft, and squishy, in through her clothes, I could tell that they were really soft. In fact, I think her boobs were a lot softer than mar-WAIT, THE FUCK AM I THINKING RIGHT NOW?! THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT! OH, GOD, I THINK MINNA'S GONNA KILL ME AND-!"

"It's okay." I heard her say, making me look up at her.

"H-Huh?" I said, confused.

Minna smiled and said, "I don't mind what had happened, Yuzu-kun. Because, if it's you, then I feel so much happy. And, your hand felt so warm when you touched my chest. I liked it."

"Uh…" I said, as I got myself back up, before I said apologetically, "Sorry."

"Nein, it's okay." Minna smiled, "I know it was just an accident, and I know you didn't do it out of bad intention. And, I know how very caring you are. That's what I love so much about you."

"Minna…" I said.

"Also," said Minna, innocently, as she placed her hands on top of her breasts, "If you really want to, Yuzu-kun, then I don't mind you touching them again, so go ahead. Touch them as much-"

"AAAAAHHH!" I screamed, before I said quickly, shaking my hands no, "NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I'M GOOD! I'M GOOD! I'M GOOD! I'M TOTALLY GOOD! I THINK I'VE DONE ENOUGH TOUCHING YOU FOR TODAY!" I then quickly turned around so that she doesn't see me blushing as I nervously said, "S-S-S-S-So, a-a-a-anyway! U-U-U-Uh…d-d-do you…w-w-w-wanna have some breakfast? I-I-I-I'll…g-g-get them…r-ready for you, i-i-i-if…y-you want."

I turned my head a little to see that Minna was looking at me for a moment, before she smiled and said, "Ja, I'd love some!"

I sighed and said, still nervously, "Ah, g-great! I-I'll uh…I-I'll go make breakfast and get them ready. So, you go on to the bathroom and get ready for school. I'll wait at the kitchen. S-S-So uh…I-I-I'll see you at the kitchen."

"Ja, Yuzu-kun." Minna smiled, "I'll see you later."

I then quickly began to leave the room, quickly moving myself to the kitchen, before I stopped and placed my back against the wall, trying to catch my breath while I tried to take in what just happened. Oh, god! I can't believe I touched her breasts, and Minna was okay with it! And what's more, Minna was willing to let me touch her breasts again?! Just how much does she love me?! I sighed to myself, letting air take in as silence took over, before I looked at my right hand that had touched Minna's big and soft boobs, before I began to make a motion of squeezing, as I began to remember the softness and squishiness of her boobs. I began to remember what I had just did to Minna minutes ago, as I remembered how they exactly felt, how big they were, and just how soft that her boobs were; they…they were softer than marshmallows. As I began to think that, I…I remembered what Minna had just said to me about touching her breasts again…before suddenly, I…I started to fantasize…about Minna…

We were…in a love hotel room, where the room was red and pink, the carpet floors being the color of red, and the walls were the color of pink, and the only lights that were one were the red, pink, and white candles, lighting up in the dark room, and the sound of erotic music was the only sound that was being played. And here I was, in nothing but my blue boxers; no shirt, no pants, just me almost completely naked. And there, right in front of me, was Minna, sitting on the side of the bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties that were in complete white, representing her innocence, waiting for me to come over to her, with that innocent smile on her face. Her body had the most beautiful perfect hourglass figure, including her large supple breasts, her nicely curvy hips, and her nice toned legs. I looked at her for a moment, taking in her figure, as we let the music play in silence, and Minna looked at me as she did the same with mine, both of us sharing the same blushing looks on our faces.

Minna then brought her arms out in opened arms, as she said sweetly in a half whisper, "Yuzu-kun, here~ Come to me~"

Once I heard that, I felt the urge to go to her and take her in bed, and to make her mine, and only mine alone. And so, I slowly came over to her, and once I got close to her, I then gently pushed her down to the bed, before I placed both my hands between her as I was on top of her. I looked down, and saw that Minna looked very beautiful, but also looked very vulnerable, as she looked up at me with vulnerable eyes that showed she was a little scared, showing me that this was her first time doing this. Seeing as how scared she was feeling, I placed my right hand on her cheek as I slowly rubbed her face gently and tenderly, showing her love and reassurance, before I kissed her on the forehead, showing her that I'll be gentle with her. This made Minna gave out a loving smile, knowing how kind I was being to her. She then placed both her hands on top of her chest where she showed her large supple breasts and smiled sweetly as if she was welcoming me to touch them.

"Yuzu-kun~" she said, sweetly, in a half whisper, "Go ahead~ Touch them if you want~"

"Minna…" I said.

"It's okay~" said Minna, sweetly, in a half whisper, "Go on~ Touch me~"

With that, I gently took her hands away from her chest and placed them on both sides of her face, before I slowly moved my hands and went to her supple breasts, where it was rising and then going down from her breathing. Then, without any delay, I began to place both my hands onto both her boobs, and began to gently squeeze them, grope them, and massage them, making Minna moan cutely and sweetly. I continued gently squeezing, groping, and massaging both her large and supple breasts, earning lots of very sweet and cute moans from the girl that was beneath me. Minna was moaning so much from my gentle touch that I was giving her, as she looked at me with loving eyes that tells me to keep on going, and so I did. I was giving Minna the feeling of love and pleasure that she wanted from me. As I kept on squeezing, groping, and massaging her breasts, I looked at all the loving expressions that Minna was making, as she was moaning sweetly, feeling happy from my touch that she was feeling and having from me groping and massaging her, before I turned my attention her lips that looked very sweet, as if it could be kissed by another, making me slow down my hand motions of squeezing, groping, and massaging.

Minna looked at me and saw this, before she smiled sweetly and said in a half whisper, "Go on, Yuzu-kun~ Please, kiss me~"

I looked at Minna, surprised for a minute, before I smiled back and nodded. We looked at each other lovingly, letting this moment of love come to us, before I began to slowly move my head closer towards hers, slowly closing our eyes as my face were slowly getting closer and closer to hers, and slowly opening our mouths for each other, as we were slowly getting ready for me to give her the most loving and blissful kiss, getting ready for me to soon give her…the most wonderful pleasure that she'll-

NO, WAIT, WHY THE FUCKING HELL AM I HAVING THESE EROTIC FANTASIES?! I SHOULDN'T BE FUCKING DOING THIS! AND NOT ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND!

* * *

Outside of the apartment complex:

People were walking on the sidewalks, passing by each other and the apartment building that was next to them. Some were old people walking by from shopping stores, others where teens hanging out, while few were business men and women.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, there was a very, very loud scream that was from the apartment complex, making people completely startled and yelped as they all turned their attention towards the apartment where the screaming was coming from, before there were very loud banging going on, making the people even more surprised and startled. The screaming that was happening in the apartment complex was either making people scared of or completely confused as to what was going on inside.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

As soon as I realized what I was thinking and what I was fantasizing about, I soon shot up from that thought and fantasy and then began screaming my heart out loud, before I began to repeatedly banging my head against the wall really hard, trying to get the image of and the erotic thoughts about Minna out of my head, while continually screaming my heart out loud, and shouting to myself, "FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! FORGET IT! OH, DEAR GOD, FUCKING FORGET IT!"

As soon as I was done screaming, I was panting, gasping, and wheezing out, tired from all the screaming any more than I did while trying to catch my breath. As soon as I caught my breath, I turned around and saw Saber standing there with a blank expression on her face, and I was startled by it.

"W-Wait, Saber?!" I said, startled, "H-H-H-How long have you been here?!"

Saber sighed and said monotonically, and with a deadpanned expression, "Long enough to see that my Master was screaming himself out so loud and banging his head so hard that I had to cover my ears from all that loudness and screaming you made."

"Oh." I said, realizing what I had just did, before I said apologetically, while rubbing my temple, "Sorry about that. I was…trying to forget something…and trying to get the image out of my goddamn head."

"It's fine, Yuzuru." said Saber, "However, the next time you wish to scream out your head off, I suggest that you should do so elsewhere where no one can hear you nor what you are screaming about."

"Right." I said, "I'll be sure to do that."

"Also," said Saber, before she flicked me in the head with her finger and said sternly, "Please, do not be going around and having these erotic fantasies while I'm around! I could already feel what you were thinking from a mile away!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, before I suddenly remembered our pact, and I said, "O-Oh. Oh…crap. Right, I forgot." I then looked down ashamed, and said, "Ugh…sorry…"

* * *

Me, Minna, and Saber were in our seats, fully dressed in our school uniform, Minna was in hers, eating our breakfast that I had made on the table. We were all really quiet while we were eating, neither one of us were planning to speak whatsoever. Okay…this was getting…awkward. Although, at least Saber seems to be the only one who's eating her breakfast calmly like it either doesn't bother her or it's none of her business. Or, it could be both.

I then began to speak, though awkwardly saying, "U-U-Um…s-s-so, uh…anyway, M-M-Minna, um…h-h-how's the breakfast that I made? I-I-Is it, uh…a-any…a-a-any good?"

"Ah, ja!" Minna smiled, lightening the mood, "It's very delicious! I really love your cooking, Yuzu-kun!"

Ah, well, at least it's getting a little less awkward now. "Ah, that's great." I smiled back, "I'm…glad you like it. I've been practicing on my cooking while we were apart. I figured that if I'm gonna be living independently, then I might as well at least need to learn how to care for myself. Plus, I thought I'd might make some good impression for people."

"That's wonderful, Yuzu-kun!" Minna smiled, "You must've worked really hard to get to where you are now!"

"Yeah." I said, "And, admittedly, I thought that if I'd see you again, I'd cook for you, so that you'll love some great food that I'd make for you."

"Really?" said Minna, surprised, "You did it for me, Yuzu-kun?"

"Yeah." I said, "I guess I just thought that, if I'd see you again, then…well, maybe I'd show you my cooking skills."

"I see." said Minna.

"Uh…w-well, I-I-I mean, I-I-I still…have a lot to learn before I could be a better cook," I stuttered a little, "But, well…you know…"

Minna shook her head and said with a sweet smile, "Nein, I don't mind at all, Yuzu-kun. Because, if it's from you, then I'm fine with anything that you'd make for me. And also, I really love your cooking. It's the best to me!"

"Minna…" I said, before I smiled back, "Thanks. I feel relieved to hear that."

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded happily.

Saber stopped eating and said to me with a small smile, "Yes. I, too, find your meals to be quite satisfying, Yuzuru. In fact, I find that any meal that you make would bring me to satisfaction."

"I'm glad to hear that, Elaina." I said, and she nodded. I then I got myself up from my seat and said, "Well, I think it's time we get ready. We'll need to get ready to head to school. So, let's finish up and clean the dishes."

"Ja!" Minna smiled.

"Indeed." Saber nodded.

* * *

After we were done eating and finished cleaning the dishes, I then said, "You two go and get your school bags ready, while I go and get Yukitsuki-san. Knowing her, she'd probably want me to go get her so that we can go to school early."

"Okay." Minna nodded.

"Of course." said Saber.

"Oh, and uh, before I forget," I added, "Our teachers and staffs for our classes won't be around for today, so we'll be having substitute teachers to teach us for our lectures. I thought I'd let you know that."

"Ah, I see." said Minna, "Danke, Yuzu-kun."

I nodded and said, "Gern geschehen, Minna." I then took my school bag and went out the door to go and get Yukitsuki-san.

I walked my way around the apartment until I found Yukitsuki-san's room. I went up to the door and then knocked on it and waited until Yukitsuki-san would answer it. As soon as the door opened, Yukitsuki-san popped her head out and saw me outside, waiting for her. But…when I looked at her, she had a troubling expression on her face.

"Uh…hey, Yukitsuki-san." I said, "Good morning. What's wrong? You look kinda troubled. Is uh…everything alright?"

"Yeah, good morning, Shindou-kun." said Yukitsuki-san, almost like in a whisper, "And, no, everything's not alright. Did you…hear the news?"

"Huh?" I said, "Uh, no, sorry, I was too busy trying to wake Minna and Elaina up and making breakfast for them, and uh…thinking of some stuff (not that I can tell you what it was about), I didn't really have time to watch what's going on TV. Why, did something happen?"

Yukitsuki-san looked away from me, as if she knew whatever answers she's going to make would affect me, before she sighed and then looked back at me and answered, "Our school is in a threat of shutting down."

Hearing what she had said suddenly shocked me, as I shouted out of shock, "WHAT?!" I then grabbed her shoulders and said quickly asked, "Wait, hold on! What do you mean our school is in a threat of shutting down?!"

Yukitsuki-san looked at me for a moment, before she said, "Get Minna and Elaina here. I'll show you what I mean."

* * *

We were all in Yukitsuki-san's room as we watched the news on TV. Me and Minna were sitting together on a couch, Yukitsuki-san sat on a chair next to us, while Saber stood standing behind us. On TV, the news was showing our academy with lots of police cars that were at the school gates blocking people, mostly parents of other students of our school, who were apparently rioting over what was going on, and the news reporter who was facing the camera to give out her news report with her mike in hand.

"In today's news," said the news reporter, "The Fuyuki City's once great prestigious Homurahara Academy has been reported to have lost all of the school's funding and financial needs to support its academy and is now in an immediate threat of shutting down for good. With no longer any funding to help and support the school, all the students and teachers will no longer be able to go to this once prestigious school of our city. This has placed all parents of every students on riots and on strike, hoping and demanding that they should have the school running once again, with little to no results as the response for their call has yet to be made to deal with this current situation. No one knows exactly what had caused our once great academy to immediately be on the verge of shutting down with little to no more school funding to support it, however, witnesses believe the one who have caused all of this and has been leading to this disastrous event was done by Mr. Taichi Kobayashi, the former principal of Homurahara Academy."

"What?!" we all said, completely shocked about this revelation.

"The members of the Board of Directors of Education are currently speaking to the teachers and staffs within Homurahara Academy about the current situation that the academy is currently in and are debating on what to do and to what their plan is." said the reporter, "And all students are to be told to stay in their residence with their parents, either to wait until either the situation will be resolved completely or not at all. As the Board of Directors of Education debate on what their next move should be, there is a question that now lingers in everyone's mind: Will the Homurahara Academy continue running and become prestigious once again, or will the inevitable come to happen and the once great academy becomes gone for good, no longer being an academy of Fuyuki City?"

Once the news was done, Yukitsuki-san turned off the TV, ending what was shown to us, before she got up to face us and said, "That's what's happening now. Apparently, if the school isn't able to run again, Homurahara Academy will be gone for good. And without any financial needs to help support it, the school's done for good. And…if the school's done for good…"

"…then everyone here will be forced to move away from Fuyuki to transfer to different schools." I finished for her, "Does that…include exchange students?"

"I'm afraid so." said Yukitsuki-san, "I don't really know about Elaina's case, but…if they intend to take exchange students back to their countries, then it's likely that they'll take Minna back to Germany."

Hearing about that made me completely shocked, as I got up from the couch and said incredulously, "WHAT?! Are they out of their minds?! They can't just take Minna back to Germany, she just got here to Japan! If they take her back, they'll…!"

"I know!" said Yukitsuki-san, "I know that she just got here, but this was something that they had already decided on for all the students of Homurahara Academy if this problem isn't resolved!"

"Are they kidding us?!" I said, incredulously, "So what?! Are we supposed to be just standing around doing nothing while we wait for the inevitability to happened?! And then we just move out of Fuyuki City to just go and transfer to different schools just like that, like nothing matters anymore?!"

"Look, I don't like the idea of moving away from here as much as you do, Shindou-kun!" said Yukitsuki-san, "In fact, none of us do! But everybody knew that if something like this were to go wrong and that if it isn't dealt with anytime soon, this was going to happen to all of us, not just our teachers and staffs or the exchange students!"

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean we should like this idea!" I said, "And that doesn't mean we have to just stand around and do nothing!"

"He's right." said Saber, "Just because this is the problem of those who work for Homurahara Academy, that does not mean it is not the problem of ours. Besides, if they shut down the school for good, where could every student of the academy possibly go from Fuyuki? Perhaps to another school in another city, yes, but even if they did that, it would not make things any better, because it would never feel the same for them in other schools than Fuyuki."

"Yeah, but-"

"Yukitsuki-san, we have to go to Homurahara Academy." I said.

"But the news said-"

"I don't care about that, not when something like this is happening!" I shouted, "I'm not just gonna stand around, sit in my own home, and do nothing about what's happening! Everyone here loves this school, and it's like a home to them, to everyone, both old and new! I love that school too, even after my time being here, no matter how short it was!" I then sighed and said, "And besides, Minna doesn't want to leave this city, this country, because she wants to learn so much about it. And most of all, she…she needs me, and…" I turned to looked at Minna and saw that…she had a look of fear in her eyes, as she was looking at me with tears in her eyes that looked like they could fall any minute, and even though she was doing her best to hold it in, her body was shaking uncontrollably, as she was fearing of what might come for her. seeing her like that made me remembered about what she said to me last night, saying to me that…she doesn't want to be separated from me again. I gripped my fists tightly, as I held my anger in, before I looked back at Yukitsuki-san, as I gave a look of seriousness and determination, as I said to her, "We were separated once, a long time ago, and I don't want us to be separated again."

Yukitsuki-san looked at me with a surprised look on her face, seeing as how serious I was, and she looked at me for a moment of silence. She then sighed before she gave a small smile and said, "You really do care for Minna, don't you?"

I nodded and said, "More than you know."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, before she sighed and murmured, "I guess I can see why she loves you so much…"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

Yukitsuki-san giggled a little and said, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said.

"Anyway, if you're going to go to the academy, then I'm going, too." said Yukitsuki-san, "It's like you said, we can't just stand around and do nothing and wait for the inevitable, and just because it's their business, doesn't mean it isn't ours. And besides, it's like you said, everyone loves the school. And so, do I. And I'm not gonna stand around and wait for the inevitable either. I don't want my school to shut down for good."

"Thanks, Yukitsuki-san." I said, "You're a really great friend I could ask for."

"I'm just doing what I can to help out." said Yukitsuki-san, "Besides, I still owe you from the time you helped me. I'll call the others, you, Minna, and Elaina can go on ahead and head to Homurahara Academy, I'll catch up then."

"Okay." I nodded, "You got it."

* * *

Me, Minna, and Saber arrived at the academy as soon as we could, but when we got there, the front gate was already crowded by lots of people, most likely the parents of every student of Homurahara academy that were on strike, demanding to have the school running again, while they were being pushed back by police officers. The situation was…really bad.

"Looks like we can't go by the front." I said, "If we did, we'll probably get caught by the crowd, and god knows what might happen."

Saber and Minna nodded in agreement, before Minna asked worriedly, "But, Yuzu-kun, how are we supposed to get in the school?"

"There are the other gates on both sides that we can go to." I said, "We can use either of those to go through without being noticed by anyone."

"I see." said Minna.

"But, Yuzuru," said Saber, "Wouldn't there be more security guards there guarding those two gates as well?"

"If there are, we could try to talk them out of it to let us in." I said, "Besides, everyone seems more focused on the front gates to even bother to go to the side gates, so that give us time to go without having anyone to notice us."

We looked back at the group of people rioting at the front gate, as they tried to get through the police while on strike. And, just as I had said, they were too distracted to even noticed us while we were a little far away.

"Yes, you have a point." said Saber, "Still, we need to stay close to each other as possible should anything happen. We don't know if there will be another crowd of people just like the ones here at the front gates."

"Ja." said Minna, "It'll be bad if we get caught."

"Yeah." I said, before I thought of an idea, and then I turned around and grabbed onto Minna's hand with mine, surprising her a little, before I said, "It'll be safer if we held hands. So, hold on tightly, okay, Minna?"

Minna looked at me with a surprised look for a moment, before she smiled and said, "Ja! Okay, Yuzu-kun!"

I then turned to Saber and asked, "Elaina, do you need to hold mine, too?"

"No, there's no need to." said Saber, "I'll be keeping my guard up while we're in the crowd, so I'll be fine."

"Okay." I said, "Then, c'mon, let's go before anyone notice us."

Minna and Saber nodded, before we then began to proceed forward, slowly walking around the corner of the school gates while making sure nobody sees us. Thankfully, we were able to go around the corner of the gates quickly without being noticed by anybody. We kept on going until we found another gate at the side, and just like the front gate, it was being guarded by a policeman and police woman on guard duty, but thankfully, it did not have any crowd to deal with.

As soon as we were getting closer, the two security guards saw us before the policeman brought his hands up and said, "You three, halt!"

We stopped the moment he said that as we the policeman then began to approach us and said, "You kids, what do you think you're doing? You can't be here!"

"Uh…we're sorry, officer." I said, "But we just came here to see what's going on with our school and talk to the people here."

"Son, haven't you seen the news?" said the policeman, "The school's closed until further noticed. Students aren't allowed to come to school due to the threat of it shutting down. I'm afraid you and your friends are gonna have to go home and come back again tomorrow."

"But, officer, I can't do that!" I said, "Sir, I need to come in and talk to the people here! I need to talk to them about what's happening right now and what they're going to do about this!"

"I'm sorry, sir." said the policewoman, as she approached us, "But, I'm afraid it's not possible. Students are not allowed to come in to school, and we can't let anybody in the school, even if it's something important."

"But, I-"

"I'm sorry, kid, but we're gonna have to ask you and you friends to leave." said the policeman, "We can't let anybody in, especially students."

"But-"

"Sir, please leave." said the policewoman, "We're sorry, we understand what you and your friends are feeling, but we're just doing our job."

"C'mon, kids." said the policeman, "Go home."

"But-"

"Wait, hold on!" I heard someone called, and I looked at the front of the gates and saw Emilia-sensei approaching us, before he stepped in front of us and told the police officers, "It's okay, officers, these kids are with me. Let them through."

"Huh?" said the policeman, "But, sir, we were told not to-"

"It's okay, officers." Emilia-sensei reassured, "These kids are my students. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Are you sure?" the policewoman asked.

"Of course." Emilia-sensei smiled, "Like I said, they're with me."

"I see." said the policewoman, "Very well, then."

Once that was done, the policemen went back to guarding the gate.

I turned to Emilia-sensei and said, "Thank you so much, Emilia-sensei."

"Not at all." said Emilia-sensei, "Sakura told me she had a feeling you'd come here, so I figured I'd come by to get you." He then looked as if he noticed something, before he gave out a sly smile and said, "Say, when did you two become a couple already, Shindou-kun?"

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I looked at where he was looking, and then I realized, I was still holding Minna's hand. Seeing this made me panicked a little, before I quickly let go of her hand and then I shouted at Emilia-sensei, "N-NO! It's nothing like that! I-I wasn't holding her hand on purpose, I was-!"

"I'm kidding, kid!" Emilia-sensei laughed, "I'm kidding! Jeez, kid, you sure do get worked up when it comes to you two, don't you?"

I sighed and said with a deadpanned expression, "Shut up, sensei. It's completely none of your business."

Minna giggled while Saber chuckled a little.

We then heard footsteps as we heard Yukitsuki-san called, "Shindou-kun! Emilia-sensei!"

We turned around and saw Yukitsuki-san and the others coming towards us as they had arrived just in time.

"We got here as soon as we could." said Kurosawa-san, "Didn't wanna miss this."

"YEAH!" Hiiragi cheered, enthusiastically, "WE'RE GONNA GO GET OUR SCHOOL BACK!"

"We're doing this for our school." said Yukitsuki-san, "All of us."

"Right." I nodded.

But then, I suddenly noticed something, and it was our group. One of us was missing. I turned to the others and said, "Hey, one of us is missing. Where's Asada-san? Isn't she supposed to be with you guys?"

The others looked at me for a moment, before Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Yeah, she was supposed to, and I did call her, but she said that she can't show up with us today. Apparently, she said that she'll be busy, as she has something else to do, so she can't come to school to meet up with us."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Busy? Wait, busy with what?"

"She didn't say." Yukitsuki-san shook her head, "I asked her, but she said that it's something she can't talk about, and that it's something important she had to do alone. Honestly, I wish I knew what it was."

"Yeah, that's kinda weird, don't you think?" said Kurosawa-san, "Our class representative going out doing something else other than stuff related to school and all. She should've been here to help support our school if she's really our class rep. and all."

"Yes, it's strange." Said Emilia-sensei, making us turn to him, "But we'll have to worry about that later. For now, kids, if you wanna know what's going on, come with me. And stay with me, alright?"

"Yes, sensei." we all said, before we all began to follow him to where he was leading us.

I stopped for a moment as I noticed Saber was standing where she was, and she looked as if she was thinking about something. I went over to her and said, "Hey, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

Saber was quiet for a moment, before she asked, "Master, how long have you known Chikako Asada for, and how much do you know about her?"

"Asada-san?" I said, before I answered, "Well, about three and a half weeks since I moved here, and aside from being a class representative, and being a reliable helper to everyone else in school, as well as being good friends with Yukitsuki-san and Kurosawa-san in class, not entirely much since she always do lots of stuff as class representative, even though she does make time to hang out with us and talk with us. Why?"

Saber thought for a moment, before she said, "There's something about her that doesn't seem to be right, something that even you may not know about."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, what do you mean?"

"It's her energy." said Saber, "And the color of her aura."

"Huh?" I said, even more confused.

"You may not know it nor feel it and tell since you're still not entirely a full-fledge mage," said Saber, "But as a Servant, I could feel it. I could sense that her aura was completely strange; her aura was dark, and it was…ominous. Something is off about her."

"Off?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure entirely," said Saber, "But…I just know that your friend, Chikako Asada, may not be who you believe her to be."

I looked at Saber as I took in what she had just said to me, before I began thinking for a moment. Could Asada-san…really be that bad…?

I then shook my head and said, "Nah, Saber, you probably must've been imagining things. I don't think Asada-san is a really bad person. And if she was, I would've already avoided her a long time ago. Besides, I can't actually imagine her being a bad person. She's too much of a good person."

"Hmm…I suppose so, and I do hope you're right." said Saber, "Still, we must be cautious the next time we see her again, for there is no telling what kind of person Chikako Asada turns out to be. And if she turns out to be an enemy, we must be prepared."

I took in what Saber said as I thought for a moment, before I nodded and said, "Got it. I'll be sure to do that."

Saber nodded, before she smiled and said, "Anyway, we should hurry. The others are probably waiting for us already."

"Right." I said, as we began to walk to catch up to the others, "Let's do that."

* * *

We were in the school building walking through the hallway as we all followed Emilia-sensei, as he was leading us the way to where our teachers and the members of the Board of Directors of Education were at. Emilia-sensei was walking ahead of us as he was leading the way, Yukitsuki-san and the others were behind him, while me, Minna and Saber were behind the others, and while we were walking on our way to where the meeting was, I was holding onto Minna's hand again as I felt that I needed to hold onto her and not let go.

"Stay close to me, Minna." I whispered, for her to hear.

Minna looked at me for a moment before she nodded, and then held my hand tighter to show me that she'll stay close.

I…I don't know why, but…for some reason, I don't want to let go of her. I don't want to let go of Minna, not even for a second, or else…she'll be gone for good. I…I don't know why, I just…I just don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose Minna. Just, what…what is this am I feeling? Is it…fear? Am I…afraid? I'm afraid of losing her…but why? Why am I afraid of losing her? Is it because she's my childhood friend, and I don't want to be separated with her again just like long time ago? Or…? Just…what is it? I…I don't know what it is, but…I just know that I have to keep holding onto Minna, no matter what! I have to! And I…I have to protect her! I promised her to!

We then stopped at the door that Emilia-sensei stopped us at where no doubt, it leads to the meeting that was happening. Emilia-sensei brought his finger to his lips, signaling us to be quiet, and we all nodded to that, before he moved the door slightly opened, just a bit enough for some of us to see while a few of us peaked through the window.

In the meeting room, we see our teachers, Matou-sensei, Mitsuzuri-sensei, Makidera-sensei, Himuro-sensei, Saegusa-sensei, and our school principal, Mr. Ryuudou, as well as some staffs, standing in line and facing in front where the members of the Board of Directors of Education were sitting at a table. All of them were wearing black suits and white buttoned shirts while also wearing different colored ties.

One member was an old man who has white hair and beard and brown eyes, and is wearing a black and yellow striped tie, and a name tag on his left side of his pocket breast named "Yoshiro Yamazaki". Another one was an attractive young woman who has long waist-length reddish-brown hair that is styled in twin-tails which is held up by two blue ribbons and brown eyes, and is wearing a red tie, and a name tag on the same side of her pocket breast named "Erika Akizawa". The next one next to her was a handsome man who has short shoulder-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and is wearing a blue tie with black poke-dots, and wearing a name tag that is named "Haruno Takashi", and unlike the other members who had stoic looks on their faces, he was the only one with a smiling face. Another one was a man who has short light brown hair and black eyes, and is wearing glasses that are elliptical and a black tie, and wearing a name tag that is named "Ichirou Kimura". Another one was a man who has purple hair that is gelled to the back and purple eyes, and is wearing a dark purple tie, and a name tag that is named "Noboru Satou". The last one that was a woman who has short, curly brown hair that is tied in a half up half down hairstyle, tied back with a small ribbon, brown eyes, and like Ichirou Kimura, was wearing glasses, but are round instead of elliptical, while unlike the rest, wears a brown ribbon instead of a tie, and wears a name tag that is named "Minoru Sakuragi", and she was the only one who had a sympathetic look on her face. They were all sitting at a table together while facing our teachers and staffs.

Then, there was one more member who stood out from the rest of them and was the only one standing instead of sitting down. He was a man who has short black hair that is neatly combed and black eyes, and unlike the rest of the members, he was the only one wearing a white suit and white tie, white shoes, and he was wearing a name tag that was named "Rokurou Sakakibara". Next to him was a woman who has a tablet in her hand, likely his secretary. She had short white hair that is styled in twin pigtails which is held up by two black ribbons, tanned skin, and blue eyes and wears red glasses. She was wearing a white suit with a black buttoned shirt with a white ribbon around her neck, a black short skirt, white stockings, and black high heeled shoes, and a name tag that is named "Chiyoko Fukui".

As we watched and listened in, they were all watching the news that was being projected to them by a projector, where the news was regarding what was going on.

* * *

Sakura's POV:

Me and the other teachers and staffs were all standing and facing ourselves to the members of the Board of Directors of Education, saying nothing and doing nothing for a moment, while the projection of today's news was being shown through the projector.

"Families and friends of every student of Homurahara Academy are still in a complete riot and are continuing on their strike, regarding and demanding to have the school running again." said the news reporter on TV, "All of them have been demanding that the school should resolve their matter regarding about the financial support and decide to continue to run the school as soon as possible. With the academy at stake, what will be the response of the Board of Director of Education towards these rioting and demands? Official re-"

The secretary, Chiyoko Fukui, turned off the TV projector with a remote, before stepping back to allow her boss, Mr. Rokurou Sakakibara, to speak to us. Mr. Sakakibara looked at each and every one of us with a stern look on his face, before he said sternly, "You're lack of actions, as teachers and staffs, have caused this academy to reach this point, and now all have of those causes that was made by all of you are beginning to affect everyone else; both families and students! I knew there was something wrong with the school regarding the Mr. Kobayashi and his "issues" with financial needs, but this?! I can't believe he actually lied to me, to all of us in the Board of Directors, about needing funds to help keep the school running, only for him to just steal it away for this ridiculous debt of his!"

Everyone in the Board of Directors of Education nodded as they each had looks of disappointments, few were sympathetic or concerned.

"Sir, it wasn't any of their fault." Mr. Ryuudou defended, "They were ordered by Mr. Kobayashi to not take action, to not do anything regarding-"

"Regarding what, Mr. Ryuudou?!" said Mr. Sakakibara, sternly, "Dealing with the worst kind of delinquent of student who has led not one, but thousands of other students to be hurt, or even worse than that?! The worst kind of student that wasn't even supposed to be allowed to enter the academy, but Kobayashi allowed him to anyway, because of what he was hiding from everyone?!"

"None of us knew what he was hiding from us and from our school until now!" said Mr. Ryuudou, "And we didn't know that Mr. Kobayashi was being blackmailed by Shichirou Hashimoto regarding about what he did to deal with his debt, including the murder of his sick mother! We all knew that he was weak minded, even weak minded enough to not do anything regarding bullying, but not that weak minded regarding about his debt! We didn't know why he forbad everyone to do anything regarding about Shichirou and him bullying others, and even forbad us to call the police, but after learning the truth-!"

"THAT does not change the fact that Homurahara Academy is in THIS situation now, nor does it change the fact all of your lack of actions has led your school here!" said Mr. Sakakibara, sternly, right in front of Mr. Ryuudou's face, before he turned to look at us as he said sternly, "As for the rest of you, do you have ANY idea how much Kobayashi owes us for lending him financial needs, or ANY of your lack of actions have costs all of us?!"

"Uh…" I began, "W-Well, we-"

"And DON'T think I'm TALKING about yens here!" he shouted, sternly, making all of us flinched, "I'm talking about this academy's reputation! YOUR reputation as teachers and staffs! And OUR reputation as Board of Directors of Education! EVERYTHING! Everything happened because of your lack of actions of taking your responsibilities as teachers! Do you all realize that?! Do you realize what has happened because of it?! Do you even realize that your lack of performance has brought yourselves here?! Have you forgotten COMPLETELY about your line of work?!"

"WE HAVEN'T FUCKING FORGOTTEN, AND IT WASN'T OUR FAULT!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted back, before being shot at by his glare, and then she begrudgingly toned down and reluctantly said, "…sir."

I then spoke up as I said, "Mr. Sakakibara, sir, if I may? We-"

"Save it!" he said, sternly, silencing me, "All of your incompetence as teachers and staffs has brought all of you and this academy to the brink of being finished completely! History! In fact, you are all a bunch of the sorriest excuse of teachers and staffs that I have EVER seen working in this academy! You are ALL here to teach the students here HOW to learn, not make excuses of yourselves! Even that fool Kobayashi was the sorriest excuse of a principal of this academy! You all came here believing you can help every student here in this academy, only to see you that you've been making FOOLS of yourselves, and by the time you see what a complete disappointment that you've made to yourselves and everyone here, you just hang your heads like failures!" He then yelled at us, "You are ALL a disgrace to your positions as teachers! You are ALL a disgrace to those who had dedicated and worked for this school before you! You are ALL a disgrace to all your students! You are ALL a disgrace to all of us! You are ALL a disgrace to Homurahara Academy!"

Hearing what he was terribly saying about us, about our failures as teachers, each and every one of us began to hung our heads down in shame as we began to express our mixed emotions; I looked down on the ground as I cast a shadow over my eyes, letting myself sadly take in what he said about us and our failures, Mitsuzuri-senpai hung her head down while she had her eyes shut tight as she was gritting her teeth and tightening her fist in sheer anger, Makidera-senpai hung her head down as she was shedding comical tears in her eyes, Himuro-senpai hung her head down while her glasses were reflected by the light, showing her shame and sadness, Saegusa-senpai hung her head down and had shut her eyes tight as she winched fearfully from him yelling at us, Mr. Ryuudou hung his head down while his glassed were reflected by the light, as he stood and watched us teachers and staffs being yelled at, while the rest of the staff members just hung their heads in complete shame, seeing and believing that he was right.

"Therefore," said Mr. Sakakibara, making us all look up to look at him, "After all that has happened today, the Board of Directors of Education and I have reached a conclusion and have made our decision."

We all looked at him and the members of the Board of Directors, as we became tense from what he was going to say to us, as we waited for what their answer for they plan to do is.

Mr. Sakakibara then gave us his answer, as he said, "We have decided that, unless you figure out a way to clear out this issue by dealing with the financial problems regarding school funds, and a way for you to pay us back, I suggest you pack up and get ready to leave in seven days, because the Board of Directors will no longer be supporting this school, and we'll be shutting down Homurahara Academy for good."

Hearing what he had just said about their decision made us all shock with our eyes wide, as we all shouted in complete shock and disbelief, "WHAT?!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, "Y-You can't be serious! You can't just decide on that!"

"Yeah, what she said!" said Makidera-senpai, "A-And you can't possibly just give up on supporting our school like that! We need you guys!"

"Y-Yeah, that's right!" said Saegusa-senpai, "You're the Board of Directors of Education! You should be helping us and our students, not going against us!"

"Ms. Saegusa-sensei," one member, Ms. Erika Akizawa, spoke up, "Are you and the other staffs even aware that your former principal, Kobayashi, had been secretly stealing money from the Board of Directors and had been lying to all of us about needing money for your school, only to use it as a means to clear off his debt that can never be done? What he did was a despicable and irresponsible act that has caused us greatly and have not only affected your academy, but also the Board of Directors as well, and has caused your academy to be framed by him."

"Yes." said another member, Mr. Yoshiro Yamazaki, "His choice of actions of taking away our money for his lies about financial needs and your lack of preventing it has cost the Board of Directors of Education millions of yens. If it weren't for either of your incompetence as teachers, regardless of whether you had known about it or not, all of this would have been avoided in the first place."

"But, sir!" Himuro-senpai tried to reason, "It wasn't-!"

"Regardless of who's fault it is, the problems that had been caused by your former principal have now been laid down to all of you." said Mr. Yamazaki, "The financial funds that were stolen from us by him have now been laid to all of you to deal with and must be resolved, and it must be done so by your own hands."

"Yes, yes." said Mr. Haruno Takashi, with a happy look on his face, "If you don't solve the problem and figure out to pay us back for all the money he owes the Board soon, we won't be able to help support your school anymore. And you may need some support from people who support the school. Ah, but, due to all the things that had happened with Mr. Kobayashi and the school bully, I highly doubt that the parents of every students here will ever support the school, because, well…it's been getting bad impressions from parents recently, the very bad impressions that the old principal greatly ignored, and even told the police to back away from."

"Why, you…!" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, angrily, "You guys are a bunch of assholes! I'm not taking any of this! I'm gonna kick your-!"

"Wait, Mitsuzuri-senpai!" I quickly stopped her, before calming her down, "Please, calm down! Calm down!"

Mitsuzuri-senpai angrily glared at them with gritted teeth and tightened fists, before she began calming down a little and stepped back. I then turned to them and tried to reason with them as I said, "Um…Mr. Sakakibara, everyone in the Board of Directors, if you would, please reconsider your decision. Right now, we have no means of paying back what Mr. Kobayashi owes all of you. We still need some time and your help to support our academy. And, yes, we have been given bad impression about our academy due to what Hashimoto did to hurt others and what Mr. Kobayashi did by telling us teachers and staffs and the students not to do anything about his bullying and ignoring every parents' complains and the polices' calls about what was going on, but…and I'm sure you already know, but Mr. Kobayashi was weak minded due to the stress of dealing with his debt that's been getting difficult for him, and he was being blackmailed by Hashimoto since Hashimoto somehow found out about it. But, even so, the parents and students still love and support Homurahara Academy, and even right now, they're trying to fight to get this academy back running outside. And, they want to stay in this academy is like home to all of them, even us. If you don't support the academy and help us, and if you shut the school down, everyone will have nowhere else to go to study. Perhaps to other schools when they transfer, yes, but it wouldn't be the same for any of the students. They all want to stay in this academy, and they're calling out to us to have the school running again. So-"

"Mrs. Sakura Matou, we have heard enough." said Mr. Noboru Satou, sternly, "You're wasting your breath and your time. We care less of what those people outside say about all of this, what they're making out there are just meaningless noises. They have absolutely no idea about the position it is in nor do they understand the concept of our policies. What they're doing outside in the middle of this day is nothing but meaningless actions, and such meaningless actions won't bring back this now failure of this academy. If they think that being on strike will bring back this ridiculous school of theirs, well, they're wrong. Making wasteful acts and meaningless noise will bring them nothing and will only divide themselves."

"But-!"

"Besides, Matou," he added, "Even if they do support their academy, what good does it do? What they're doing is not enough to bring it back, and every family needs to keep their money to help themselves and their children, and things that must be done at their home. Speaking of, these so-called students of yours have no discipline nor respect for anything regarding for this academy, and those ridiculous children of yours are nothing more than babies, and babies such as them needs to learn that they're doing nothing more than wasting their precious time on not learning the obvious lessons made by you. Don't you think?"

"What…?" I said, shocked, with my eyes wide.

"Are you mocking our students?!" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, angrily.

"No." said Mr. Ichirou Kimura, as he adjusted his glasses, "It's simply the truth. None of these students of yours show no sign of respect or discipline, despite what you've done giving them lessons. Shichirou Hashimoto has already proven that."

"But-!"

"No, buts!" said Mr. Sakakibara, sternly, making us silent, "In fact, no more from any of you! We've HEARD enough!"

He then went to look at each and every one of us, as he then said sternly, "If none of you can handle the position that all of you in nor figure out how to deal with the situation that all of you are currently in, then I suggest you quit your positions as teachers and staffs, leave the city, and take your incompetence for your lack of actions elsewhere!"

Then, the door suddenly opened abruptly, making turned to see who it was coming in, and to all of our shock, though I wasn't completely surprised as I had a feeling he'd come, Shindou-kun immediately walked in with everyone else behind him with an angered look on his face, as he shouted, "You wait just a damn minute there!"

"Shindou-kun…!" I said.

"WHAT?!" Mr. Satou shouted, "Who are you, and just what're you and the rest doing here, young man?! You can't be in here!"

"Young man, we're in the middle of a meeting!" Mr. Yamazaki shouted, "Students shouldn't be here! You should get out-!"

"No wait." Mr. Sakakibara halted them, "Let them in and talk."

"You listen right here!" Shindou-kun shouted, "I don't give a damn who you people are or what you do here, but you can't just talk to our teachers like that! They did ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong to deserved to be yelled at like that! And you can't treat them like they're at fault for everything that's already happening right now!"

"Yeah, what he said!" Hamasaki-san shouted with him, "They do care about our school, and we care about our school!"

"That's right!" Hisakawa-san shouted, "It's YOU people who're the ones that don't care about our precious academy! You selfish assholes!"

"Yeah, screw you guys!" Kurosawa-san shouted, "You may not like "babies" like us being here in this academy, but our teachers sure as hell do! And so, do we!"

"Ja!" said Minna, "I like being here! And I don't wanna leave this school nor this country!"

"Indeed!" said Elaina-san.

"Shindou-kun…" I thought, "Everyone…"

"Standing up for your teachers and school, I see." said Mr. Sakakibara.

"Yes, we are!" Shindou-kun shouted.

"We all are!" Hisakawa-san shouted.

"Well, I see you have lots of guts coming in here and standing up for your teachers with your friends, young man." said Mr. Sakakibara to Shindou-kun, before he turned to us and said, "And I see it's about time that you've made good students here at this academy, but that will NOT make us change our minds about our decision of shutting this academy down. And unfortunately for all of you, this discussion for this meeting is over! So, while these children are here, why don't you all take them elsewhere out of our sight?!"

We remained silent while we stood where we were, unsure of what to do next after hearing that, before he yelled, "OOOOOUUUTTT!"

Hearing him yelled like that made us flinched, before we looked down and reluctantly said, "Yes, sir…" Then, one by one, the teachers and staffs began to leave the room to leave the Board of Directors alone. I went up to Shindou-kun and the others as they all looked at the Board of Directors with angry looks on their faces, before I placed my hand on his shoulder, making him look at me, and said to him calmly with a sad smile, "Shindou-kun, let's go."

He looked at me for a moment, before he sighed as he relented, and I turned him around and held both his shoulders as I guided him to leave. I looked at everyone else with Shindou-kun and nodded to them, making them relented to leave as well.

* * *

Erika's POV:

We watched the teachers and staffs, and those kids leave the room until it was just us and Mr. Ryuudou was the last to leave.

Before he could leave though, Sakakibara stopped him and said, "And, Mr. Ryuudou, your time as principal is over. You can leave this academy and go back to being a Buddhist monk at Ryuudou Temple. You're done."

"W-What?!" said Mr. Ryuudou, shocked, "B-But-!"

"I said, you're done!" said Sakakibara, sternly, "Not another word from you! Leave."

Mr. Ryuudou looked shocked for a moment, before he sighed and said reluctantly, "Yes, sir…" With that, he bowed to Sakakibara before bowing to us, and then he left the room, leaving only us the Board of Directors.

As soon as they were all gone, Satou said, "Tsk. Annoying brats. This is why I hate dealing with children!"

Takashi laughed and said lightheartedly, "Well, you can't blame them for wanting to keep their school. The probably must've overheard us through the door while we weren't looking. Besides, it took a lot of guts for them to stand up to us like that."

"No matter." said Kimura, as he adjusted his glasses, "We've already made our decisions, and we will not change it."

"Indeed." said Yamazaki, "Unless they figure out how to deal with this problem of theirs, we will not support this academy any further. Besides, after what has happened to Kobayashi, I doubt we can trust anyone within their staffs."

I didn't say any word as I just sat in my seat, arms folded, legs crossed, and my eyes closed as I listened to the conversation the Board was now making. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked to see it was Sakuragi, who had a shy yet gentle expression on her face, as she softly asked, "Ah, Akizawa, are you feeling okay? You've been quiet for a while now."

I smiled and said reassuringly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking some stuff. Don't worry about it."

"Ah, okay." said Sakuragi, "I-If you say so."

"Sir," I heard Fukui said, and I gave a glance at her and Sakakibara as they were talking privately, "About that boy…"

"Yes?" said Sakakibara, privately, "What is it, Fukui?"

"That boy was Yuzuru Shindou." said Fukui, as she showed him the ID and profile of him, "Apparently, he's the son of the wealthy business family of the Shindou who run a business of the Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation. Apparently, he moved from Misaki Town to Fuyuki City since three and a half weeks ago. It seems for various reasons, he wants to live independently."

"Is that so?" Sakakibara asked, "Does anyone in the school know about this?"

"No, sir, none of the people here knows about it." said Fukui, "For whatever the reason, he wishes to keep his family background a secret from everyone."

"I see." said Sakakibara.

"Should I make a report about this?" Fukui asked.

Sakakibara looked back at the door that Yuzuru came from as he thought for a moment, before he answered, "No, there's no need for that. Let's leave it be. Besides, I actually respect him for standing up to us that way. If he wants his background kept, then let's leave it that way for him."

"Understood, sir." Fukui bowed.

"Shindou…?" I heard Sakuragi said, before she whispered to me, asking, "Hey, Akizawa, that boy earlier…isn't he your…?"

Before I could answer, I looked at Yamazaki, Satou, and Takashi as they were talking to each other, not bothering to listen, before I looked at Sakuragi as I gave her a small smile, before I placed my finger close to my lips and said "Shhh."

Sakuragi saw this and then nodded, keeping herself silent. I then got up from my seat as I said, "I'm going out for a minute." Once I announced that, I began to walk out to the door to leave the room.

"Hey, wait for me!" Sakuragi called, as she began to follow me.

Once we were out of the room, we began walking down the hallway.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We were all walking down the hallway until we were in the teachers and staffs' room. As we walked in, we were all having mixed emotions about all of this, about what was going to happen to our school: anger, sadness, frustrations, and…well, I think anyone can get the idea of what we're feeling right now. Hell, I couldn't even believe it myself. It made me so angry about they said and what's gonna happen!

"I can't believe this!" Mitsuzuri-sensei shouted, "They're doing this to our school?! Why in the world would they even do that to our school?! To all of us?! I mean, we worked our butts off for this academy all year, and now they're kicking us out because WE'RE FUCKING "incompetent"?! And what's worse, they're making us do all the work of figuring out how to get money to save our school without their help because of what that damn Kobayashi did?!"

"Look, I don't like it any better than you, Mitsuzuri!" said Mr. Ryuudou, "In fact, none of us do! But we all knew that if something like this were to go wrong, this was going to happen to the school and the students, not just us!"

"That doesn't mean we have to like it." said Himuro-sensei.

We all sighed at that, before Yukitsuki-san asked, "So, what do we do now?"

We were all silent as we waited for answers, before Mr. Ryuudou said, "I'm afraid we don't know what to do. Even if we did, I'm not sure it would work. And I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help any of you in any of this. And before you ask why, it's because my time as principal is already over, so I won't be here anymore."

"Oh, I see." said Matou-sensei, "So, I guess that's it for you, then."

"Yes, I'm afraid so." said Mr. Ryuudou, with a sad smile, "I apologize, but even if I want to, I can't stay here anymore."

We all looked at Mr. Ryuudou for a moment, before Mitsuzuri-sensei and Matou-sensei approached him, before Mitsuzuri-sensei brought out her hand and said with a smile of gratitude, "It's okay. At least, for whatever short time you had, you did what you could for us, so thanks for all your help, Issei."

"Yes." Matou-sensei nodded, "Thank you for everything you could for us until now."

Mr. Ryuudou smiled at them and nodded, before he brought out his hand and shook Mitsuzuri-sensei's hand and said, "You're most welcome. It's been a pleasure working with all of you. And, whatever happens, I'll be sure to support all of you on the sidelines." Once he let go, he turned to all of us and said, "Well, farewell, everyone, and good luck." Each of us nodded to him one by one as a means to say goodbye to him, before he began walking away until his footsteps weren't heard anymore, meaning he was gone.

"Well, I guess this is it then…we're on our own." said Saegusa-sensei.

"Man, this sucks…" said Makidera-sensei.

We all sighed again at that, before I felt hand holding mine, and I turned around to see Minna as she had a troubled look on her face. Just by the look she was giving, I knew that she wanted to talk to me alone. I nodded to her, before I said, "Uh…you guys go on and…keep talking for a while without us. We're gonna go somewhere a bit."

"Huh?" said Makidera-sensei, confused.

"H-Hey!" said Mitsuzuri-sensei, "Hold on, where are-? Huh?"

Mitsuzuri-sensei stopped and turned to see Matou-sensei stopping her, before she shook her head, telling her to leave us be. Matou-sensei then looked at us before she gave out a smile and nodded, telling us to go on ahead. I nodded in thanks before I held Minna's hand and then we went out to talk somewhere that was quiet, leaving everyone at the room.

Once we were out, we went to the corner of a quiet hallway, and once we checked that the coast was cleared, and we were all alone, we began talking, with Minna starting first. Before she could say anything, though, she brought me to an embrace as she held onto me tightly. While she was holding onto me tightly, I could feel that…her body was shaking, and I knew that…she was shaking in fear, fear of what may happen. I then felt wetness on my shirt, as I felt she was shedding tears. Minna, she's…sad and scared. I…didn't know what to do or what to say right now, so I just…hugged her back and rubbed the back of her head for comfort.

"Yuzu-kun…" I heard her said, tearfully, "I…I…I'm…"

"Shhh…" I whispered, soothing her, "It's okay, Minna…it's okay. It's okay. I'm right here for you."

We stayed where we were, letting silence take over, as I continued to hold onto her while rubbing the back of her head to sooth Minna, as I let her cried onto me.

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, tearfully, making me let go of her so that I could see her face; her eyes were already flowing down with tears, and her expression was really sad, as she said, crying, "I…I don't…I don't want…I don't wanna go back…I can't…go back to Germany…I…I…I want…to stay with you…"

"Minna…" I said.

"Yuzu-kun…" Minna cried, softly and tearfully, as she held onto me tighter, "I…I…I'm scared. T-They're…they're gonna take me…take me back…back to Germany…won't they…? If…if they take me back…I…I won't…be able to…stay with you…anymore. If I…if I go back…I…Yuzu-kun…I can't…I don't…want to leave Japan…I…"

Seeing her looking sad like this, I just…I couldn't help but…feel the pain that she's going through. It made my heart feel…tight and strained. Minna…she doesn't want to leave here. She doesn't want to lose me.

"Y-Yuzu-kun…" Minna cried, softly and tearfully, "I…I want…to stay here…I wanna stay with you…I…I love you, and…I want…to be with you…forever. That's why…that's why…"

I hugged Minna and held her as tight as I could, not letting go of my embrace, and letting cry onto me again, as I whispered to her, "I won't let that happen. No one will let that happen. And I'm sure our teachers will think of something, they'll find a way…to save this academy. And I'll protect you, Minna, like I promise I would. And if our school…can't be saved, then…we'll run away together, away from here to…wherever we can go. And if…if they try to take you away, I'll stand by your side, and I'll keep you safe. I promise, I'll stay with you and I'll protect you. I won't let them take you back. I promise."

"Yuzu-kun…" Minna whispered.

I let go of her so that she can look at me giving her a warm and gentle smile, before I kissed her forehead, and then hugged her again as I said, "I won't let you go. I'll stay and protect you, Minna. We lost each other once, and I'm not gonna let us lose each other again."

As I held onto her as tight as I could, I felt Minna smiled on me, as she said softly, "Ja…" And we stayed where we were in the quiet hallway, as we held onto each other, not letting go of one another.

* * *

Erika's POV:

Me and Sakuragi were at the corner of the hallway, watching the two hugging each other. I had my back against the wall with my arms crossed, while Sakuragi watched next to me. Seeing them like that makes it looked like they're a couple in a middle of a drama.

After we watched enough, I stopped watching them and said, "That boy sure has changed a lot since then."

"Hmm?" said Sakuragi, confused.

"That kid, Yuzuru Shindou." I said, "And yes, it's like you said, he's my younger cousin, on my uncle's side."

"I knew it." said Sakuragi, "Then, you knew he's a student here. And you know about the girl who's with him."

"That's right." I said, "He's my uncle's business friend's daughter, as well as Yuzuru's first and only childhood friend. Those two were together for a few years back in Germany."

"I see." said Sakuragi, "But, if he's your cousin, and you knew he was a student here, why didn't you say anything and opposed the idea of shutting down Homurahara Academy?"

I shook my head as I said, "Even if I did that, the Board of Directors still would've gone along with the plan; it would've been five votes vs one vote. Well, make that four vs two, if it includes you on my side." I then looked at her and said, "Besides, it's like they said about us; we're nothing but a bunch of straight up assholes. Satou and Kimura have proven that already."

"Well, yeah…" said Sakuragi, "But, I mean…not all of us…"

"True." I said, before I added, "And also, Yuzuru's the one person in the Shindou family that all of our relatives, including my father, hates, because he was considered a disgrace due to his lack of talent as an artist."

"What do you mean?" Sakuragi asked.

"I'm sure you're already aware." I said, "But my uncle runs a strong art business and has been a talented artist for a long time. And his two daughters are both heirs to their family's company."

"Yes, of course." said Sakuragi, "They're arts that they had made are beyond extravagant in people's eyes. In fact, I heard that both Akira and Megumi Shindou started showing their talents as artists at the age of five."

I nodded, before I said, "Well, Yuzuru didn't have that kind of talent. He was just…normal, like everybody else in the world. The way he used art, it was nothing like his two older sisters'; whatever work he did, it was like a work of a child making a mess of things. Because of that, he was looked down upon by other relatives, including my father. Because of that, he had always been living in his family's shadows, and was always looked down upon by everyone because he was nothing like his talented artistic family. I was one of the people, too. But, at the same time, I was also the one who pitied him, because he was looked down upon for not having any real talents."

"Akizawa…" said Sakuragi.

"Still," I said, "Despite all of that, his family still loved him like he was their own, because despite not having any good talents as they do, he was still a part of their family; Akira, Megumi, and auntie still loved him. Uncle did, too, even if he doesn't really show it to his own son."

"I see." said Sakuragi.

"And," I said, "Despite being part of a wealthy family, he didn't really want anything that money can buy for him. Because, he wanted one thing that money can't offer him; a purpose in life. And as you can see, he's already found it."

"That girl?" Sakuragi asked.

"Yeah." I said, "Until he met her, Yuzuru had never made any real friends, because of his lack of talent as an artist. No one interacted with him, no one played with him, no one invited him to a group, no one outside his family cared for him, and no one helped him, not even for one minute. He was all alone. Not even our relatives bothered to be with him. Hell, he and I don't interact with each other very often, and even when we did, my father would just break us apart to just keep me away from him, or he'd just avoid talking to me; partly because of my father, and mainly because he didn't deserve talking to me or anyone in our relatives. But then he met that girl, became friends with her, and that's how he found his purpose in his life. And he sure pulled through since then."

"I see." said Sakuragi, "Then, you're happy for him that he's made it here?"

"Don't misunderstand; I still look down on him just as much as all of our relatives do because he's still a disgrace to the family." I said, before I gave a small smile and said, "Still, I admit, I'm somewhat proud of him that he's come this far." I then changed my expression to being stern as I said, "But that still doesn't change what we've already decided on for this academy. Once we've made a decision, there's no changing it."

"I-I see." said Sakuragi. She then looked back at Yuzuru and the girl, before she asked me, "So, are you gonna go and see your cousin, Akizawa?"

I thought about it for a moment while I looked back the two, who seems to still be having a moment to themselves. I then looked away and shook my head before saying with a smile, "No, I think it's best that we don't. I'd rather not go and bother their little romantic rendezvous that they're having to themselves anyway. Seeing those two together actually makes them cute together." I then made a serious expression as I said, "Besides, after what we'd announced today, I highly doubt that he'd want to see me, let alone talk to me."

"Ah, I see." said Sakuragi, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

After we were done talking, I got my back off the wall as I said, "Well, anyway, let's hurry on back. I'm sure Sakakibara and the other members are ready to leave this place soon."

"Ah, right." said Sakuragi, "We should go."

Once we were done, we began to leave to head back. While we began to walk back, I looked back at Yuzuru and the girl together one last time, before I turned away and leave, ready to head back and leave the academy.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Afternoon had arrived, and everyone began to leave the academy to go home. Apparently, everyone has no idea what to do about the situation or figure out how to gain the Board of Directors of Education's trust again, although our teachers assured us that they'll figure out a way to resolve the problem. Once we said our goodbyes, everyone began to leave one by one to go home until it was just me, Minna, and Saber.

I was outside, waiting for Minna and Saber as they were still inside the school talking to each other for a moment. As I waited, I suddenly felt someone was standing next to me, and it made me felt surprised, although, I think I could tell who it is.

"Hey, Mirai-senpai…" I guessed.

"Why, hello, Yuzuru." I heard her voice, "I'm surprised you could tell I was standing here." She then chuckled and said, "Although, then again, I suppose you are learning now."

"Yeah…" I said, "I just…had a feeling you'd be here." I then thought about Mirai-senpai's Mystic Eyes and it's ability to see the future, before I turned to her and asked, "Mirai-senpai, you…you knew this would happen, didn't you?"

Mirai-senpai looked at me and took in what I asked, before she sighed and said, "It's not exactly the most…pleasant thing I wish to talk about, I'll admit. But, yes, I knew about this and what would occur for the academy in the future."

"I see." I said, "Then, if you knew that this would happened, why…why didn't you say anything to them? About what would happen to Homurahara Academy?"

Mirai-senpai turned her head to look in front of her, before she said, "Even if I did tell them about the future event of what would happen to the academy, and even if they did believe me and my words, they still would've been too late to prevent it from happening. And despite my skills as a mage, even I cannot stop it to prevent what would happen. The fate of what would happen to Homurahara Academy was already set in stone, even before either of our arrivals here in the school."

"…I see." I said, "So…is there really no way to change that? Can we really not…save our academy?"

"Why do you ask that?" Mirai-senpai asked.

"Well," I said, "It's just…Homurahara Academy doesn't deserve to be shut down like that. This school…our school is like a home to everyone. It's been a part of Fuyuki City for a long time. If…if there really is a way for it to be saved, then…we have to try that, and it has to work, right? And…if they could, then…"

"Ah, I see what this about." said Mirai-senpai, as she got off the wall to turn and face me, "You still wish for Minna to stay in this country, don't you, Yuzuru? Why, how romantic that is of you, wanting to keep your girlfriend here."

"She's not my girlfriend." I said, with a deadpanned expression, before I softened it and said, "But, yeah, I do. I mean, she just came to Japan, and taking her away back to her home country, back to Germany, it…it just wouldn't be fair for her. She wants to stay, to learn about our country, and to stay with me…"

Mirai-senpai nodded at that, before she said, "I would say that, on the contrary, it would've been very beneficial for the Holy Grail War, as taking her back to Germany would've been a much safer option for her, as it would keep her safe from getting involved in the mess regarding the battles that may come." I looked at her to say something, before she rose her hand to stop me as she continued, "But, I can see that it's not something that you would want. It's not just her that wants to stay, you too want her to stay here as well, don't you?"

"Uh…yeah." I said.

"Then, tell me," said Mirai-senpai, "What do you intend to do about it? Even if you did step up to stand against the Board of Directors, they wouldn't change their minds on their decision, regardless of what you do and regardless of your reasoning. No matter what you intend to do or say to them, the result would end the same."

"W-Well," I said, trying to think of what to do, "I-I…I would…" Then, after thinking about it a little, I said, "I'd take her with me, and…we could run away together! Away from Fuyuki! We could go anywhere, far away from here so that no one could find us! If we did that, then we could start a new life, and we could go to another school that can accept us! We'll live together, and-!"

"Stop!" said Mirai-senpai, sternly, "Is that truly what you want to do?!"

"H-Huh?" I said, "W-Well, I…"

"As your senpai, I recommend that you would not do that!" she said, sternly, "Even if you did take her with you, and try to run away from here, away from Fuyuki to go somewhere else, what good could that possibly do for you?! Even if you did find a place safe and remain in hiding, how long will it last and how long will it do good for you?! If you run away from here and take Minna with you, you'll only end up being track down by them, and they'll eventually take Minna away from you, regardless of what you do, and they'll take her back to her country by force, never to be seen again!"

I gasped at what Mirai-senpai said to me, and the thought of that, the thought of what would happen us if we ran away, until they found us came to me…and, it…it…I…I could see it happening, and…it terrifies me…and…

"And if that were to happen," said Mirai-senpai, "How do you think Minna would feel about what could come of you two?"

"I-I…" I tried to say, "I-I…I-I…I-I can't…I can't say…it's…too hard to."

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "Once the fate of what happens next is set in stone, no matter what you try to do, you can't change what fate will come, let alone fight against fate. Whatever you do next, there will be no avoiding it, and the result will end the same."

I took in what Mirai-senpai said to me, all the words that she said about whether we can change fate or not, or how what we would do would lead to the inevitable. I sighed at that, not because I hate it, but because…she was right about that. Nothing that I could do or say…will change anything.

I sighed again and said, "Yeah…you're right, senpai. If I can't change it, if I can't change fate, then…what can?"

I felt her hand touched my shoulder, making me look up at her as she gave out a small smile, before she said, "Don't fret, Yuzuru. I'm sure that in time, the answer will come for you."

"Senpai…" I said.

"Besides," she said, "We still have enough time until our school shuts down for good. Seven days, at the very least. So, for now, spend those seven days with whatever time you have left with Minna, and do so until the answer comes clear for you."

"Mirai-senpai…" I said, taking in what she said, before I smiled back and said, "Yeah, I think I will. Thanks."

"I'm just doing my job of being a supportive senpai for you, Yuzuru." said Mirai-senpai, "Nothing more and nothing less." She then turned around and said, "In any case, we'll halt our Magecraft training for you until this situation is resolved or not. For now, I'll take my leave. So long, Yuzuru."

I watched Mirai-senpai take her leave until she was gone. I smiled at where she once was for a moment, before I said, "Yeah. I'll see you, senpai."

* * *

Me, Minna, and Saber were walking around the city for the afternoon to give Minna a tour around Fuyuki. I figured it was the least that I could do for her, so in case the school doesn't make it, she'll at least remember the city. Plus, I should at least try to cheer her up. Saber was just with us to keep us company, so she told us that if we wanted, we could just pretend she wasn't here with us. I was showing her a lot of places in Fuyuki, starting with Miyama Town, from the two residential districts, both the traditional Japanese houses and the foreigners' houses, the shopping district Mount Miyama, the Riverside park, Mount Enzou where Ryuudou Temple resides at, to the Fuyuki Bridge that leads all the way to another city called Shinto, the newer district of Fuyuki. Seeing the places that I was showing her around Fuyuki City, I could see that Minna was already smiling again. She was showing signs that she was happy. Seeing her smile again, made me smile for her. I showed Minna around Shinto from shopping districts to other buildings that I could show her, until we arrived at the center of Shinto, where it leads to the Fuyuki Central Park.

The park was empty and quiet, with nothing but dead trees and grasses, making it look and feel like a ghost town of sorts. The atmosphere here was…dark and eerie.

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, as she turned to look at me, "What is this place?"

"This place is called the Fuyuki Central Park." I said, "Although, I guess it doesn't look very much like a park since it's kinda…well, empty."

Minna looked around the park for a moment, and her expression became a little sad, as she said, "Yeah, it really doesn't. It looks…very sad and empty. It makes me feel bad about it."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, well, it's…really not that surprising. And yeah, just looking at this park really does make you feel bad, like there's a blank void around the place."

Minna turned to look at me and asked, "Hey, Yuzu-kun, did something bad happen here a long time ago?"

"Yeah." I said, "Minna, have you ever heard of the Great Fire of Fuyuki?"

Minna shook her head and said, "Nein, I've never heard of it. What is that?"

"Well," I said, as I began to explain, "This is what I've learned when I moved here to Fuyuki. Before this place was called a park, it used to be a part of the residential district and the location of the City Hall, until a tragedy happened. It all happened about 20 years ago, when a great and massive fire appeared and blazed out of nowhere, and burned down everything in its path, destroying every buildings in the city, and killing thousands of people that were caught in sight of that massive fire in its wake, leaving little to no survivors. It was a horrific tragedy that had affected everyone in Fuyuki City, not just because of the destruction that it had caused, but also the lost of those thousands of people who died in that blaze; friends, families, and lots of loved ones. There were those few people who did survive from the most horrific tragedy of that fire, most of them were orphaned kids, but even then, all of the people who had died by that fire were only left as memories, long gone from the lives of loved ones, or even forgotten, and that fire from that day still left everyone scarred with the pain that could never be healed from it, probably even now."

"Whoa…" said Minna, "That sounds terrible…"

"Yeah, it is." I said, "Even to this day."

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "What happened to the people who did survive?"

I sighed and said, "That, I honestly don't know. After the Great Fire of Fuyuki, the whereabouts about the orphaned survivors became unknown, although there were some who did get adopted into a new family that suffered the same lost as those orphaned kids. Honestly, I'd be surprised if some of them were still here now."

"I see." said Minna, "Hey, Yuzu-kun, is the horrific story of that fire the reason why very few people come here?"

"Yeah." I said, "Supposedly, this place should be popular with children even on weekdays due to its size and organization, but the story behind the area about that massive fire leaves it pretty empty and barren aside from a few people for the most part. I guess not many people wants to come here and be reminded of that time when the fire came."

"I see." said Minna, as she looked around the park, "The atmosphere. It feels…really bad here."

"Yes." said Saber, who had been quiet the whole time spoke, "Even I can feel it here. The area around this park is full of grudges, strong negative feelings left over that can even be felt by spirits, and it is on a completely different level compared to any other such area in the city."

"You can feel it too, Elaina?" I asked.

"Yes." said Saber, before she came over to me and whispered, "Since I'm a Heroic Spirit, I can feel the negativity around this area of this park. And, this isn't the first time that I actually came to this place."

"Hmm?" I whispered, "Saber, do you maybe remember?"

"Just vaguely." said Saber, "This area does seem a bit familiar. I believe it was around the time of the Fifth Holy Grail War, though I'm unsure when."

"I see." I whispered, "Well, at least we're getting somewhere on that one." I then turned to Minna and said, "Anyway, we should leave this park now. Let's go somewhere to eat, I'm sure you must be hungry by now."

Minna looked at me a bit, before she smiled and said happily, "Ja! Let's do that!"

"Agreed." said Saber, "I, too, wish to satisfy my hunger today."

"Alright, then, let's go." I said, "I know a place we can eat."

* * *

We stopped by at Ahnenerbe and entered the café shop before we took a seat at a nearby table. We then looked at the menu to see what to order. While we did so, Minna took a look at the café shop, and she was amazed at what she was seeing around the shop.

"This is a nice place." said Minna, "Ah, and it reminds me so much of Germany, and in a good way."

"It does, doesn't it?" I smiled, "You know, I happen to actually work here."

Minna gasped and said almost excitedly, "Really?! You really work here, Yuzu-kun?!"

"Yup." I said, "I work as one of the staff members here and I spent my time on helping out the staffs with some stuff to do here, like cooking, brewing coffees, cleaning, writing down orders, etc. It's a really nice place to work in once you get used to it."

"Wow!" said Minna, her eyes sparkling, "That's amazing, Yuzu-kun!"

"It's just simple work and waiter duties and all." I said, "It's not really that special or anything."

"Nein, it's not such a bad job." said Minna, "If you at least put your heart into working hard, then anything could be a great job for you to work."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Ja, I know so." Minna smiled.

Seeing her smile like that made me smile back as I said, "Thanks, Minna."

We looked at each other as we both gave each other our smiles, before we suddenly heard a cough next to us, and we turned to see Katsuragi-senpai with her notebook out, waiting for us to give our order.

"O-Oh!" I said, "K-Katsuragi-senpai! S-Sorry, didn't realize you were here."

"Don't mention it." said Katsuragi-senpai, before she smirked and said, "Anyway, who're these girls with you? Don't tell me you're being a playboy and picking up women today."

"Wha-Oh, no, no!" I said, waving my hands, "It's nothing like that! I-I was just showing these two around Fuyuki City is all!"

"Is that so?" Katsuragi-senpai asked.

"Yeah, that's all." I said, "Anyway, these two with me are exchanged students from different countries as well as my friends and classmates. Elaina Scott Hemsworth, from England, and Minna Eckstein Everhart, from Germany."

"Hello, I'm Elaina." Saber bowed.

"Hallo, I'm Minna, nice to meet you." Minna smiled.

"Nice to meet you, too, Elaina, Minna." said Katsuragi-senpai.

"Elaina, Minna, this here is one of the staff members who work here, as well as one of my senior coworkers," I introduced, "Chikagi Katsuragi-senpai."

"Yup, I'm Chikagi Katsuragi." said Katsuragi-senpai.

Then, Hibino-senpai appeared and said excitedly, "Hey, Shin-chin~! I didn't know you were our customer today~!"

"Hibino-senpai." I said.

Hibino-senpai then looked at Minna and Saber and said as she smiled and waved, "Hello! I'm a fellow worker here with Chika-chan and Shin-chin, and I like to cook, so leave the cooking to me! I'm Hibiki Hibino! Nice to meet you!"

"Ja, nice to meet you, too!" Minna smiled, "My name is Minna!"

"Likewise." Saber bowed, "I'm Elaina."

"Hibino-senpai, shouldn't you be at the kitchen doing some cooking right now?" I asked, "This café shop isn't exactly gonna run itself, you know."

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry!" Hibino-senpai smiled, "The other staffs already have it under control! I'm just on a break right now."

"Oh, okay." I said.

"So, so, Shin-chin!" Hibino-senpai moved her face close to mine, making move back a little, "Are you on a date with either one of these two?! Well, are you?! Are you?! Who're you dating with these two girls with you?!"

"W-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" I said, backing away while calming her down, "C-Calm down, Hibino-senpai! I-It's not like that! I'm not on a date with either of these two with me! I'm just showing them around the city as all. There's really nothing going on with me and either of these two."

"Oh, is that so?" Hibino-senpai tilted her head, "I'd assumed you were on a date."

"Well, I'm not." I said, "And if I was, I'm sure I wouldn't pick this place as a romantic dating area, would I?"

"Hmmm, good point." said Hibino-senpai, before she smiled and said, "Ah, but, Shin-chin, you do like one of these girls, don't you?"

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised and confused.

"C'mon, tell me, tell me, tell me!" said Hibino-senpai, excitedly, "Out of all these girls, who do you like the most?! Well?! Well?! Who do you like?! Huh?! Huh?! Tell me, tell me, tell me! Tell me who you like!"

"U-U-Uh…u-umm…uhh..." I said, nervously, as I was starting to get uncomfortable with what she's asking, "U-Uh…H-Hibino-senpai…"

"Hey, Hibiki!" said Katsuragi-senpai, as she grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back away from me, "Can't you see you're making our customer uncomfortable here?! Hurry back to the kitchen and get back to work!"

"Whaaah!" Hibino-senpai whined, "But, Chika-chan, I really wanna know who Shin-chin really likes!"

"That should be him to decide on his own." said Katsuragi-senpai, "Besides, it's not our business to bother in their love life, even if it's not."

"Aww…" Hibino-senpai whined, before she sighed and said, "Okay…" We then watched her as she walked sluggishly back to the kitchen to get back to her work.

I looked at Katsuragi-senpai and said, "Thanks, Katsuragi-senpai."

"Don't mention it." said Katsuragi-senpai, "We know she doesn't mean any harm, but Hibiki's really too friendly for her own good. Anyway, how about I take your order today? What would you like?"

"Right." I said, as I looked at the menu, "Well, in that case, then…I'll have the Ahnenerbe Special, please? Oh, and an omurice, please?"

"Got it." said Katsuragi-senpai, as she wrote down the order, "And what about you two?"

"I'll have what Yuzu-kun is having." Minna smiled.

"As do I." said Saber.

"Got it." said Katsuragi-senpai, as she wrote down the order, "And your drinks?"

"I'll have soda." I said.

"Hot coffee." Minna smiled.

"Tea." said Saber.

"Got it." said Katsuragi-senpai, as she wrote down the order, "Your orders will be with you in just a moment."

"Thank you very much." we all said gratefully.

Katsuragi-senpai nodded before she turned away and left, leaving us alone at the table to talk a bit while we waited.

"They were nice." said Minna.

"Yeah, they are." I said, "I've been working with them for some time and they're pretty easy to get along with once you get to know them better. Although, getting in Katsuragi-senpai's good side wasn't really easy at first."

"How so?" Minna asked.

"Katsuragi-senpai may not look like it now, but she can be pretty scary when she's really hostile towards people." I said, "Hell, when we first met, she was really hostile towards me and thought I was a bad guy or something, and believe me, her hostility really scares the shit out of me. Eventually, though, after taking some time, she got used to me and we manage to get along and work together really well. And Hibino-senpai was…well, you just saw what's she's like."

"I see." said Minna, "They're very interesting people."

"Yeah." I said, "They sure are."

I then looked at the TV that showed the news, regarding about our school, and…the situation was still as bad as it was before. Looking at the news made me thought back on what would happen to Homurahara Academy if it isn't saved soon, and then to all of us students when we're forced to transfer to somewhere else, and the exchange students, including Minna, having to go back to their home country. Just…thinking about it made me…it made me felt helpless to do anything…I'm not sure what I can do to help, what I can do for Minna.

"Minna," I said, making her look at me, "Listen, I'm…I'm really sorry, about today, about what will happen if we don't save Homurahara Academy. I just…I really wish you could stay here, I wish you could stay in Japan. Really, I do. But, I don't think there's really anything we can do about it. And I did promise that I'd make sure they won't take you away, that I won't let anything like that happen to you, but even then, what good can I possibly even do?"

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna.

"I…w-we could run away from Fuyuki together," I said, "But, even if we did that, they'd probably eventually find us, and they would've taken you back either way. And you'd probably never come back to find me again. I just…I don't know what I can do for you, and even if I did, I don't know if it could work. I…I just…I feel so useless. I don't know what I can do. I want to protect you, but…I…"

Before I could say anymore, I watched Minna got up from her seat before she went over to me, as she then said, "Yuzu-kun, can you scoot over for me, please?"

I became confused by this, but I did as she asked and moved over, before she went and sat next to me. Then, to my surprise, she wrapped both her arms around my left arm, before placing her head onto my shoulder and then sighed with a smile on her face, as she said, "Please, let me stay with you like this. That's all you need to do for now. I feel much safer and comforting this way."

"Minna…" I said.

"It's okay, Yuzu-kun." said Minna, as she held my arms tighter, "I'm very much happy this way. Being with you always makes me feel happy and safe, and I'm glad that I get to spend my wonderful time with you, even if it was only for a short while. And, I'm really glad that I got to tell you my true feelings about you, even if you don't return my feelings. And, it's true that I'm sad…that they'll take me back to my country, even though I don't want to go back, and I may not ever see you again, no matter how much time passes by for us." She then looked at me lovingly and said softly, "But, I'm glad that…I got to see you again after so long, and as long as you still remember me, then that's enough for me." Minna laid her head on my shoulder as she said softly, "And, I'm glad that you kept your promise, that you would protect me no matter what. That's why, it's okay, because I'm glad you remember me, and you remember your promise. So, even if you don't feel the same way about me, and even if we're far apart, I'm happy that I can see you, and, no matter what…I'll always love you. My Yuzu-kun."

"Minna…" I said, as I looked at her, as I gave out an awestruck look on my face, as I was, to be honest, a little surprised about what she said. In a way, it…makes me happy that, even if we would be far away from each other, she loves me. But, at the same time, it…it also pains me, because…I won't be able to see her again once she goes back. This pain, it's just like when I left Germany, when I had to go back to Japan and leave Minna, that we had to be apart from each other for a long time. But, this feeling of pain, it feels…much stronger than that. I wonder why…why do I feel this way? Do I…maybe…just what am I feeling?

I thought about it for a moment, trying to think what it is, before I shook my head and rubbed it off. Aw well, whatever it is, at least it's not something that I feel when I have lewd fantasies. I mean-OOOOOWWW!

Suddenly, I felt something hit me real hard in the leg, and it felt so painful that I winched and then groaned real loudly in pain, and I had to rub my leg.

"Hmm?" Minna looked at me, confused, "Yuzu-kun, what's wrong?"

I groaned in pain for a moment, before I managed to make a smile and painfully said, "Urgh…ugh…i-i-it's nothing! Ugh…nothing at all…haha…haha…"

"Ahem!" I heard someone cough and cleared their throat, making me look to see that it was Saber. When I looked at her, she…she had a look of annoyance, as if there was something stupid being mentioned. Saber looked at me with an annoyed look in her eyes, before she brought her finger out and then pointed her finger on her head, signaling to me something.

I was confused by this for a bit before…oh. Oh, crap! That's right, I forgot, our pact! Jeez, it's easy to forget sometimes! I looked back at Saber as I gave her an apologetic look, telling her I was sorry. Saber merely looked away from me in annoyance, before she whispered for me to hear, "Idiot Perverted Master…"

I became stunned by this, before I hung my head and sighed, as I just gave up on trying, while Minna just looked at us in confusion.

* * *

Chikagi's POV:

Hibiki and I watched them from the counter as they were having a time of their own, like they were in their own little world together. Well, that was until the blonde Elaina kicked Shindou in the leg for no reason, though I admit it was a bit funny in the end.

I sighed and said, "Ah, kids…"

"Hey, Chika-chan," said Hibiki, "I wonder what they're talking about? Do you know what they're talking about?"

"Eh, beats me." I shrugged, "They're teenagers, after all. That's how they communicate with each other."

"Hmmm." said Hibiki, before she smiled cheerfully, "Still, that girl with silver hair with Shin-chin is really cute~! Ah, they're like the cutest couple of all when they're together~! Do you think so, Chika-chan~?!"

"Hmm." I said, while looking back at Shindou and the German girl, "Yeah, I guess so. Well, at least our Shindou isn't some harem lead idiot like our last customers. That would've been worse."

"Anyway, Chika-chan!" said Hibiki, happily, "They're orders are ready!"

"Ah, thanks, Hibiki." I said, as I took the tray of their order, "I'll be sure to give it to them."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We had finished eating our meals on the table, leaving only empty plates, as we sat and enjoyed our drinks that was served to us.

I took a sip of my soda before I placed it on the table and asked Minna, "Well, Minna, how's the coffee? Is it good?"

Minna took a sip of her coffee before placing the cup on the table and said with a smile, "Ja! Very good! I love this coffee that they made!"

"Is that so?" I said, "Well, that's good. Although, it was a good thing that I warned you about it first before you took a sip of it, otherwise you would've had your tongue burned by it. Ahnenerbe serves its coffee here extra-hot, hotter than normal, so you have to let it cool down before you can have a good drink of the coffee."

"I see." said Minna, "That's why you told me not to drink it yet. Danke for telling me, Yuzu-kun."

"Gern geschehen, Minna." I said, before I turned to Saber and asked, "How about you, Elaina? How's your tea?"

Saber took a sip of her tea for a moment, before she set it down and said, "It's delicious. The drinks that they serve here is very fantastic. I can see why you chose to work in this café, Yuzuru."

"Yeah, I admit, that's one of the reasons." I said, "Though, really, I just thought I should find a place to work at, so, why not here, you know?"

"Indeed." said Saber.

"Well, enough about that." I said, "Let's finish our drinks and then leave for today. I'll go and pay for our meal."

I finished drinking my soda before getting up from my seat and went to the reception desk. I went up to the receptionist before I pulled out my credit card and said, "Excuse me, I'd like to pay for our meals at my table, please?"

"Ah, Shindou-san, good afternoon." said the receptionist (Neco-Arc), "Ah, there's no need for you to do that. Someone else had already took care of the payment for your table for you."

"H-Huh?" I said, surprised and confused, "Wait, what? But, who would-?"

"The two women who just came in while you were eating with your friends." said the receptionist, "One with long straight black hair and the other with short curly brown hair. They seem like they were rich people from a wealthy family with the way they dress in nice and expensive clothing, and they both seemed like they knew you, Shindou-san."

"Two women, long hair and short curly hair, and are from a rich family, and they know me…" I said, as I took it all in, before I realized what she meant, and then I said, "Oh…yeah, I…I think I might know them, too…"

"Well, if you plan on looking for them and want to thank them," said the receptionist, before she pointed to my right and said, "They're sitting over at the booth at the corner. They seem to be expecting you. Have a good time."

"Uh, yeah." I said, "I think I'll do that."

The receptionist smiled and nodded before she went back to work, and I got out of the way so that the next customer would pay for their table. I then sighed before looking at where the receptionist pointed at where they were, and I sighed and said, "I never thought I'd see them again…"

I then went over to where the receptionist told me where they were at, and…sure enough, they were there, sitting at the booth waiting for me. At the booth table were two older women; one woman had long straight black hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a long glittering black dress that matched her perfect womanly figure, a pair of long black gloves that reaches to her elbows with a diamond gold ring on her right ring finger, a gold necklace with various colored gemstones, and a pair of black high heeled shoes, while the other had short curly dark brown hair and the same color brown eyes as mine, and like the other woman, was wearing a long glittering dress that fits her figure, but hers was the color silver, a pair of short white gloves that goes to her wrist with a silver wristwatch around her wrist, a silver necklace with the same various colored gemstones, and a pair of white high heeled shoes. The moment I saw them, I'd immediately recognized them, the one with long black hair was Akira-neesan who is five years older than me, while the other with short curly brown hair was Megumi-neesan who is three years older than me, my two older sisters who're both heirs of our family's company. As soon as they saw me approached them, they both gave out their own smiles to me.

"Yuzu-chan!" said Megumi-neesan, happily, while she waved her hand up high, "It's good to see you again, little brother!"

"Yes." said Akira-neesan, maturely, as she nodded her head to me with a gentle smile, "Long time no see, Yu-chan."

"Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan," I said, "What're you two doing here?"

Megumi-neesan giggled and said with a smile on her face, "What? Can't two girls visit their own little brother every once in a while?"

"Yes." said Akira-neesan, "Megumi and I came all the way here from Misaki Town to see you, Yu-chan. We just wanted to see you and see how you're doing these days." She then brought out her hand and showed me an empty booth seat in front of them as she offered, "Go on, Yu-chan, take a seat."

"Uh, sure." I said, as I took on that offer, and I sat down, before I asked, "So, when and how did you come here to Fuyuki? And why didn't you tell me you were gonna see me? I could've picked you both up."

"We just arrived here by airport yesterday." said Akira-neesan, "And we just wanted to surprise you as all."

"Yeah." Megumi-neesan smiled, "Plus, we didn't wanna bother you when you have school or whatever it was you were doing, so we just had the time to look around the city for ourselves."

"I see." I chuckled a little, "Well, you both sure did surprised me just now. Still, you should've called me, and I would've come to see you two."

"Ehehehehehe!" Megumi-neesan laughed, "No way! Where would the fun be in that? It's not a surprise if we did call you!"

"Still, you're right, we're sorry, Yu-chan." said Akira-neesan, with an apologetic smile, "If we wanted to, we would have, but you know your sisters."

"Yeah." I said, "Always wanted to be dotting your little brother, even though he's not a kid anymore."

We laughed at that for a little while, before we calmed down a bit and I said, "Oh, uh…by the way, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan, I wanna thank you two for paying our meal for us. It was really appreciating."

"Oh, not at all!" Megumi-neesan smiled, "What're family's for, right?"

Yes, of course." Akira-neesan nodded, "Anything for our family member." Akira-neesan's expression then became serious as she said, "Listen, Yu-chan, we heard about what happened to your school this morning; Homurahara Academy, was it? It's in a threat of shutting down, isn't it?"

I looked at them surprised for a moment, before I remembered that the news had spread all over Fuyuki, and then I looked down and said, "Y-Yeah…it is."

Both my older sisters looked at each other for a moment, before they looked back at me and Megumi-neesan asked, "Yuzu-chan, if it's alright, can you explain to us what happened that caused the school to go on a threat of shutting down like that?"

"Well," I said, "You see…" I explained to my sisters everything that had happened to our academy and our school's funding, about our teachers' meeting with the Board of Directors of Education, and what would happened to all the students, including exchange students like Minna, if the situation with our school isn't resolved soon. "…And, yeah, that's about the gist of it." I concluded, "I'm…honestly not sure what we can do at the moment, or how we can deal with getting the Board's trust again."

"I see." said Akira-neesan, "So, it's that bad then…"

"Yeah." I said, "And if we don't fix it soon, Minna will be…they'll…" I tightened my fists as I began to think about it, how I'll lose Minna and we'll be separated again. It…it makes me…it makes me mad and…scared… and I…!

Before I could say anything, before I felt two hands on both of mine, and I looked up to see my two sisters holding onto my hands, Akira-neesan on my left, and Megumi-neesan on my right, as they both gave out their warm smiles to me, which made me felt calm a bit, and I sighed, before I said, "I'm sorry, I just…I don't know what I can do."

"Yu-chan, look at us." said Akira-neesan, and I did what she told me, before she said to me, "Listen, there might be a way for you to save your school. So, will you listen to us?"

I looked at both of them as they were offering me a way to save our academy, before I began thinking about it for a moment, until I said, "If it will save our academy, and if it will keep Minna here in Japan, then please, tell me."

Akira-neesan nodded, before she said, "I understand. Then, if you want us to, Yu-chan…let us take care of the problem for you."

When I heard what Akira-neesan had just said, my eyes were completely wide opened, as I became somewhat shocked of what they were suggesting to me. I took in what Akira-neesan said to me, before I said, "Akira-neesan, I…no, you don't have to do that! Especially you, Megumi-neesan, not for my sake! I…I can't ask that of you two. I mean, I appreciate your help, but…I just don't wanna trouble you two with what I'm…what we're going through right now."

"Nonsense, we're family, Yu-chan." said Akira-neesan, "Of course we'd do anything to help you."

"That's right, Yuzu-chan!" Megumi-neesan smiled, "Any problems that you have is the problems of ours, too! And we'd help you take care of the problems as much as we can for you!"

"Well, yeah, but…" I said, "It's just…"

"Don't worry, Yu-chan." said Akira-neesan, "You are not a burden to us, or to anyone in our family. Remember that, you are who you are; even if you're not as talented as us in art, even if you're nothing like us in anyway, you're still a part of this family, and we love you for who you are. And because you're a part of this family, we'd do anything to make you happy, and we'd do anything to help you. Mother feels that way, we both feel that way, and I'm sure father does, too, even if he doesn't show it."

"Akira-neesan…" I said, "Megumi-neesan…"

"We don't mind helping you out, little brother." Megumi-neesan smiled, "Besides, just because you're trying to live independently, doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least call us once in a while. And also, I'm sure you like being in this city very much as anyone else does, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, it's true." I said, "But…"

"Yu-chan," said Akira-neesan, "You don't have to worry. We're a family, and we'll do anything to help out a family member. Also, you're not our shadow, you're you, and you have your own sense of self. And you have your own future that you can make for yourself outside of this family. And that's what we're all proud of about you. Father feels the same way, too."

"Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan…" I said.

"That's why, if you really need us, your family," said Akira-neesan, "Please, don't hesitate to call us, even if it's once in a while."

"Yeah!" Megumi-neesan smiled, "And if there's any problems you can't handle, we'll take care of it for you!"

I looked at my two older sisters as I took in all of what they said to me, before I began thinking about if for a moment. Well, our family does have lots of money, and this problem that our school's having is something I can't handle on my own, nor anyone can handle in that matter. And, even if people or any of us try to reason with the Board of Directors, they won't listen to us. And besides, I...I want Minna to stay here, and if they could save our school, then Minna will be allowed to stay in Fuyuki. Alright, I guess I should let my family handle this. I looked back at my older sisters, before I said to them, "Okay, then, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan, if you both could, then…please help Homurahara Academy!"

Happy to hear my answer, both my older sisters smiled and said in unison, "Yes/Yeah! We will, Yu-chan/Yuzu-chan!"

* * *

Sakura's POV:

It was the middle of the night, and Mitsuzuri-senpai, Makidera-senpai, Himuro-senpai, Saegusa-senpai, and I were at the traditional Japanese bar in Miyama Town, where we were drinking beer to let all our stresses out; well, Mitsuzuri-senpai and Makidera-senpai were drinking beer, the only ones sober were Himuro-senpai, Saegusa-senpai, and me. I was sitting in the booth with Mitsuzuri-senpai while the three were at their own booth together next to us. Out of all of us, Makidera-senpai was drinking her beer out off sadness the most, as she was lying her head on the table, filled with lots of empty mugs, and she was crying out comical tears from her eyes that was forming a puddle and was wailing out loud the most, while Himuro-senpai and Saegusa-senpai tried to either comfort her or keep her voice down to not disturb anyone. As for Mitsuzuri-senpai, well…she was furious the most, as she was drinking beer in a manner of pure madness, while I just sat and watched her taking it all.

"DAMMIT!" Mitsuzuri-senpai shouted, as she slammed her mug on the table after her next shot, "I CANNOT BELIEVE THOSE GUYS! They just treated us like we're amateurs at our jobs! I mean, we worked our BUTTS off way harder than those dicks think we did, and now we're in charge of DEALING with shit like this?! I can't believe those guys!"

I looked at Mitsuzuri-senpai as she was still being angry with the Board of Directors, and I was just as disheartened about it as she was. I then said, "Well, it can't be helped, Mitsuzuri-senpai. They made their decision after all that's happened today. Besides, we didn't know about Mr. Kobayashi and what he was hiding at the time. And unless we know how to gain their trust again, our school will be loss and we'll lose our jobs."

"Yeah, well, screw those guys!" said Mitsuzuri-senpai, angrily, "We care about our academy and our students more than anything! They're the one who don't care about them at all! If they did, they would help us, and they wouldn't put us in this situation! If those assholes were the REAL Board of Directors, they'd see that!" Then, Mitsuzuri-senpai calmed down, before she sighed and said, this time toned down, "Sorry, Sakura, I'm just…I'm so frustrated, I can't even think! Honestly, I wish I knew what we could do, but…it's really hard for us. At this rate, our school might as well shut down for good!"

"Mitsuzuri-senpai…" I said.

Mitsuzuri-senpai chuckled a little before she gave out a sad smile and said, "Sorry, I must've had too much beer, I don't know what the hell I'm saying right now." She then looked at her empty mug before she filled it with another beer and said, "Still, what CAN we even do at this point? It's not like we can use our money to pay back to those guys. We don't even have enough money, and that damn old Kobayashi doesn't pay us much. That selfish old bastard, all for that damn debt that he had." She then took in her shot, and she finished it all in one go, before she sighed as she lightly placed her mug on the table, before she said, "Besides, even if we did save our school from shutting down, we still don't have a principal to help run it. And since Issei's gone, he won't be able to help us out anymore, and we're all stuck without him. What's worse, is that we don't even know where we can find and get a principal to help our academy, if he can that is." Mitsuzuri-senpai sighed before she sulked onto the table and said, depressed, "We're all…doomed…"

I placed my hand on Mitsuzuri-senpai's shoulder in a sign of comfort, as I said, "Don't worry, Mitsuzuri-senpai. I'm sure we'll figure out something soon." I turned to the three and saw that Makidera-senpai was still comically depressed and wiling herself out, while the two continued to try to comfort her or keep her quiet down. I then turned to the waitress who was passing by before I raised my hand and said, "Excuse me, I'd like to pay fo both our tables today. We're done here for today."

"Oh, uh…actually, ma'am, your tables have already been paid." said the waitress, which surprised me, and I was about to ask before she answered as she pointed out the door, "Uh…two women just came by and had paid for your table, and said that they wished to speak with one of you."

I looked at where the waitress pointed and, just as she said, there were two women at the door; one with long black hair and blue eyes and was wearing a black dress, while the other had short black curly hair and brown eyes and was wearing a silver dress. Judging by the way they looked and the way they dressed, they could be rich. As soon as they saw me looking at them, they both gave out their smiles and waved at me.

I became curious of them before I turned to the others and said, "Guys, can you look after Mitsuzuri-senpai? I'll be right back."

I got up from my seat and left my booth to go and see those two women. When I got closer to them, I then bowed to them and said, "Uh…hello, and thank you for paying for our tables for us." I then looked at them and asked, "Um…can I ask, who might you two be?"

"Yes, of course." said the one with black hair, "Ah, but first, if I may ask, are you perhaps called Sakura Matou, one of the teachers of Homurahara Academy?"

"Hmm?" I asked, surprised and confused, before I answered, "Ah, yes, that's me. How do you know that?"

"Then, it's nice to meet you." the one with black hair bowed and then introduced herself, "My name is Akira Shindou, and the one with me is my sister, Megumi Shindou, we're the daughters of the President and CEO of our family's company, the Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation. I believe you've heard of it?"

"The…Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation…?" I said, as I took in what she said, before something hit me. Wait, Shindou…? Suddenly, realization hit me, and I said completely shocked, "Wait, Shindou?!" I then had to ask to confirm, "U-Uh…could you it perhaps be that…you two are Shindou-kun's two older sisters?"

"Yeah!" said the brown haired woman, Megumi-san, with a big happy smile, "And if you know our little brother, you must be one of his teacher, right?"

"Ah, yes, of course!" I said, "I happen to know your younger brother. In fact, Shindou-kun's one of my students in my class."

"Is that so?" said Akira-san, before she bowed, "Then, Mrs. Sakura Matou, we'd like to thank you for looking after our little brother, Yu-chan. I hope he's not any bother to you."

"Oh no, not at all." I said, "Rather, he is a very helpful and wonderful student. In fact, I treat your brother as if he was my own."

"I see." said Akira-san, "Then, that's good to hear."

"Yeah!" Megumi-san smiled, "I'm glad that Yuzu-chan has a great teacher with him!"

"Yes." I smiled back, before I asked, "Um…can I asked, what brings you two here to Fuyuki?"

"Ah, yes, straight to the point." said Akira-san, "Megumi and I have come here to discuss something with you, regarding your academy. We heard what's going on, and we'd like to help you bring it back running again."

"Yeah!" said Megumi-san, "We wanna help bring your school back again!"

"Eh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, you do?"

"Yes." said Akira-san, "And we have a plan to help you with that. Would you like to hear about it as we explain it?"

I looked at the two as I took in what they were offering for a moment, before I said, "Yes, please do!"

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	11. Chapter 5

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

Akira's POV:

It's almost been three days since we spoke to Yu-chan, and today was the middle of dawn, and Megumi and I were at the airport with our bodyguards behind us, as we waited for him to arrive soon. We had called him and had explained everything to him, so he should be arriving to Fuyuki City as soon as possible. Then, we saw a jet had arrived, and we immediately recognized it to be our family's private jet, which means that he's here now. Once we saw where our family's jet was landing at, we began to walk out from the airport all the way to where the jet was at.

We saw walked to where the jet had landed, as the passenger door began to open, revealing a staircase for the passenger to walk down out of the jet, and once the staircase was set, someone, a man, began to come out of the jet and began walking down the stairs with a secretary and two bodyguards behind him. The man then saw us as we were approaching him, before he turned to us to reveal himself. This man standing before us…was our father, Shinobu Shindou.

Our father in front of us is a wealthy business middle age man who has short black hair that is combed to the back and sharp blue eyes, the traits that my little brother, Yu-chan, and I got from him; Yu-chan having his hair color, while I had both his hair and eye colors. He was wearing his usual business outfit, which is his black suit with white buttoned shirt and a red tie, black pants, and black shoes. In his hand was his black suitcase which no doubt contains the money that they needed.

The secretary next to him, who also happens to be our mother, Maiyumi Shindou, has shoulder-length brown hair, with some of it tied into a ponytail, and gentle brown eyes, the same traits that Yu-chan and Megumi got from her; Yu-chan having her eye color, while Megumi had both her hair and eye colors. She was wearing her secretary outfit, which consisted of her red glasses, her blue suit with white buttoned shirt and a yellow bowtie, a black pencil skirt that reaches to her knees, and white high-heeled shoes. In her hand was her tablet.

As soon as both father and mother, as well as their bodyguards behind them, came over to us and stood right in front of us, me and Megumi, as well as our bodyguards, formally bowed to them as a sign of respect, before we lifted ourselves up to face them for us to greet them.

I started first as I smiled and said, "Greetings, it is good to see you again, father." I then looked at my mother and said, "And you, as well, mother."

"Yes." Megumi said next, "It's been quite a while, dad, mom."

Father nodded to us as he said with a gentle smile, "Yes, it is good to see you two, as well, my daughters, Akira, Megumi." Father then looked around for a bit, before he said, "I take it that Yuzuru is not here with you, is he?"

"No, father, he isn't." I said, "Yu-chan is currently at his home for the time being. He wishes to remain at his place so that he could spend his time with his childhood friend as well as Mr. Everhart's daughter, Minna."

"I see." said father.

"If you would like, father, I could call him for you." I suggested, "If there's anything you wish to say to him."

Father remained silent, as he was thinking about it for a moment, before he answered, "No, no need for that. I'm sure Yuzuru wishes to be alone for a while. Besides, we're here for business, so it would be best not to interrupt him while we're on business, nor should we drag him into it. Also, I highly doubt that people here know that we're Yuzuru's family, so it would be best that we'd not to have attentions drawn to him."

"Ah, yes." I said, in understanding, "I suppose you're right."

"Well, I'm sure Yuzu-chan will come and see us once we're finished with business!" Megumi smiled, "So, for the time being, let's head to the hotel before we get started!"

"Yes." I said, "While we do, I believe it would be best that we should explain things first, if it is necessary."

"Of course." father nodded, "I'd like to hear what's the situation."

We then went to our car and then our driver began to drive us on our way to the hotel that we were staying at for the time being, the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel, located in the Centerville neighborhood. On our way, we explained to father and mother about the situation of the academy that my brother was currently studying at, from the school's funding to the threat of it being shut down, and what would happen to all the students, including the exchange ones, as well as teachers and staffs if the situation is not resolved. Everything that our brother told us. We had figured that father was already told about it, but just in case, we should tell him what we know. Of course, as expected of our father, he took it all in and took this very seriously. Even mother looked into her tablet to see that what I told them was true, and she was just as serious as father was.

"I see." said father, "I understand. So, the Board of Directors of Education will not help and support the academy unless they are paid back the money that they had lost."

"Correct." I nodded, "And the academy only has about six days left until the academy shuts down for good. And for the academy to run again, they will need their support as well as funding for it to continue running again."

"Daddy, if it's possible, then we'd like to help the academy in Fuyuki to continue running again." said Megumi, "If we can help the school, then everyone here will continue to go and study at their academy again. And, Yuzu-chan is there, so we wish to help our family member."

"I see." said father.

"Dearest," said mother, "Right now, the chances of them trying to get their academy back on their own is very, very slim. Even with the support of many parents of every student wanting to get it back, there is little to no chance of it returning so long as the academy's funding is little to none. And, even if they tried to reason with the Board of Directors, none of them will listen to reason unless their trust is brought back. However…" She readjusted her glasses before she added, "If we were to intervene and provide them the necessary needs for Homurahara Academy, and if we were to reason with the Board of Directors and convince them to continue supporting the academy…then there is no doubt that they would have a better high chance of returning everything back to normal, and the students here in Fuyuki will continue to study at their academy."

"I see." said father.

"So, father," I said, "If it is possible, as these people here in Fuyuki needs our help in restoring it to the way it is, will help them?"

After hearing what we had told him and what we suggested we do, he closed his eyes and became silent as he began thinking for a moment of what to do. Then, when he opened his eyes, he then said, "We shall meet with the Board of Directors, and we shall speak to them directly. We will be having a meeting with them and have a negotiation with them. I would like to speak with them regarding of their decision on shutting down the academy, and I want to make sure, that they listen to my reasonings, and what I will intend to do for Homurahara academy."

"So, then, you will help bring it back?" I asked.

Father looked at us as he gave out a smile and said, "Well, it is something that you two called to me about and asked if I should deal with it, so yes, I will."

Hearing what our father said, accepting to help Yu-chan's academy, me and Megumi smiled in sheer joy as we were happy with his answer.

"Besides," father added, with a chuckle, "Abraham's only daughter is here in Fuyuki City and is being kept an eye on by our youngest of the family, is she not? If words of what happened were to reach him, he'll be getting around my neck and bother me about it without end. We don't want our family friend to do that because of what happened to his own daughter."

We chuckled in agreement, before I said, "Yes, that's true. We all know how he reacted when Minna went missing one time. Though, then again, his is a protective parent."

"Yup." Megumi smiled, "Can't let Mr. Everhart be mad at us for what'll happen to Minna."

Our driver then suddenly stopped the car, making us turn to look outside through the window, as we have already arrived at the Hyatt Hotel. We then turned to father as he looked at us, before I smiled and said, "Shall we, father?"

Father smiled back and nodded, before he said, "We shall."

* * *

Rokurou's POV:

Me and everyone else in the Board of Directors were in our meeting room office having a meeting, regarding about the strike that was still currently going on at the gates of Homurahara Academy, the school that we intend to shut down for good, as we watched the TV news regarding it.

"In today's news," said the news reporter on TV, "The parents of every student of Homurahara Academy are still continuing to riot and being on strike, demanding that they have their academy back for their children, who are also students learning in this once prestigious academy. The strike is currently taking place at the front of Homurahara Academy, where many people who are in strike consist of students, teachers, families, and former students alike. It has already now been a few days since the announcement of shutting down Homurahara Academy for good, as the decision had been decided on by the Board of Directors, who will no longer be supporting the academy, unless the situation is resolved by teachers and staffs within the remaining four days. As the rioting and the striking rages on, the question now lies within everyone's mind: what will be the fate of Homurahara Academy?"

After we finished watching the news as the TV now began to show of TV commercials, I turned off the TV, ending it, before I turned to see the rest of the board.

"My, god…!" Satou grumbled, "I can't believe those people…! It's already been a few days, and these people still demand that they have their failure of their academy back?! What fools, do they even understand the concept of what's going on or what they're doing is completely meaningless?! What they're doing now is making meaningless noises and wasteful efforts! What a waste of time!"

Takashi laughed and said, "It can't be helped. They all want their school back for their own reasons because it's their beloved school. Well, not like they understand anything about what we do nor understand that there's nothing they can do about it."

"Yes." said Yamazaki, "But, we've made up our minds, and have made the decision, nonetheless. The academy will soon shut down for good, and the students will leave Fuyuki City, and they'll be sent to different schools once it is over. Homurahara Academy will not open for Fuyuki again."

"U-Um…I-I-I don't know, you guys." said Sakuragi, softly and shyly, "I don't…I don't really think it's a good idea to just…decide on this without even listening to their reason first. S-So, d-don't you think that…we should at least try to hear them out?"

"No, we do NOT!" said Satou, sternly, silencing her, "In fact, I'd rather not listen to the selfish and meaningless reasons of those insolent children who've been studying in the academy learning nothing from those failures of those teachers!"

"Yes." said Kimura, "Their reasons do not matter at this point. We'll just have to wait and see how it all ends, or until the academy shuts down for good. The strikes that everyone is making will soon no longer matter once it is all over."

I looked at Akizawa, who had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, as she was sitting in her seat in complete silence, as if she was keeping things to herself. Then, as if she felt my eyes were on her, she opened her eyes to look at me as she said, "I have no say in this, Sakakibara. We have made up our decisions, and we shall keep and accept that decision. Besides, even if they do eventually figure out a way to save their academy, they'll already be too late."

"I see." I said, "Very well, then."

We then heard a door opened and closed, before I turned around and we looked to see that it was my secretary, Fukui, that just came in to the room, interrupting us a bit. She then said as she came over to me, "Sakakibara, sir."

"Yes, Fukui?" I said, "What is it?"

"We just received words at the front gate." said Fukui, "There is what appears to be a business man with several people with him who claims to be from Misaki Town requests an audience with you and the Board of Directors. He wishes to speak with you regarding about Homurahara Academy."

Upon hearing that, the rest of the board, save for Akizawa, looked at each other with surprise looks on their faces and well as looks of curiousness, as they whispered to each other who it could be. Of course, I was just as curious as they were as I said to myself, "Misaki Town…" I then looked at Fukui as I commanded, "Tell those at the front gate to let them in. We'd like to see who it is in person."

"As you wish." Fukui bowed, before she turned away from as she brought out her phone to make the call, as she then waited for answers, before she said on the phone, "Hello? Yes, the Board of Directors would like to meet with them in person. Let them in."

After that, we waited for about half an hour for whoever it is to arrive. Most of us were being patient for them to arrive. Then, the door began to open, as the people who wish to see us began to enter into our room, slowly revealing to us who it is. And…I was in complete surprise, as I immediately recognized who those people that were coming in our room were. More specifically, I recognized the man that was walking in with his secretary next to him and the two girls behind them. No doubt, they were…

"Well, I'm quite surprised." I spoke out, "Who would've thought that the president and CEO of the Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation himself, as well as his two heirs of the artist company, would come all the way here from Misaki Town to meet with us. And under no guard at that."

The rest of the board members were just as shocked and surprised as I was, seeing that the president and CEO of the business company would come and show himself to meet us, as they began to whisper to each other, wondering what he was doing here along with his family, save for Akizawa, who was staring at the president and the two girls.

Before the man himself could speak, the girls who appears to be older stepped up and bowed before she said, "We are truly honored and grateful to be recognized by the head of the Board of Directors of Fuyuki for who we are. But, please, allow us to introduce ourselves, nonetheless." She then looked at her father and said before stepping back, "Father?"

The president nodded to his eldest daughter, before he turned to us and introduced himself, "I am Shinobu Shindou, president and CEO of the Shining Artist of Shindou Corporation. At your service to all of you."

The president then turned his head to his two girls and nodded to them, signaling them, before the eldest one nodded back, turned to us and bowed as she said, "Greetings to all of you, I am Akira Shindou, eldest daughter of Shinobu Shindou, and first heir to the Shining Artist of Shindou Corporation. It is my humble pleasure to meet you."

The second one stepped up before she smiled and waved as she said cheerfully, "And I'm Megumi Shindou, second daughter of Shinobu Shindou, and second heir to our family's company along with Aki-nee. It's nice to meet you!"

"Ah, yes." I said, "Nice to meet you, as well. Both of you." I then looked at President Shindou and said, "And you, as well, sir. I've heard that your artistic work and your company is very well known in Japan."

President Shindou nodded and said, "Thank you. I'm honored to hear that."

"So," said Satou, "What brings the president and CEO of the well-known artistic company along with his two heirs all the way here from Misaki Town to Fuyuki? I don't imagine it has something to do with your business. If it's about the academy that'll be shutting down soon, don't bother talking to us about it! We've already made up our minds on letting that failure of the school go!"

"H-H-Hey, Satou!" said Sakuragi, "That's the president and CEO you're talking to! Don't be rude to him!"

"Well, I don't care at this point!" said Satou, "They're wasting their time, and ours!"

"Satou-!"

"Now, now!" said Takashi, trying to calm them down, "The president and his two girls came a long way to get here. Let's just at least hear them out, and see what he has to say."

"Yes." said Yamazaki, "We should at least listen to them. Besides, it's not often we get to see the Shindous themselves in person. Let's hear what they have to say. They're-"

"I am FULLY aware of who these people in front of are!" said Satou, sternly, "What I don't understand is WHY they're here nor WHY can't they comprehend that what they say will NOT make any changes! It is a COMPLETE waste of time!"

"That's right!" said Kimura, "They said so themselves, that it's about Homurahara academy! If it's about the situation regarding about shutting it down, there's nothing for them to say about it! In fact, there's nothing left for us to discuss about!"

"Guys, c'mon, let's not fight!" said Takashi, trying to calm everyone down.

"He's right!" said Sakuragi, trying to reason, "Fighting isn't going to solve everything!"

Akizawa, who still had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, remained just as she was, sitting in her seat in complete silence, as if choosing not to be a part of the ruckus that they were making as they kept fighting with each other. Then, as if feeling my gaze at her, she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at me, before she gave a small smirk and then shrugged, telling me that it should be my problem and not hers, since I lead the Board of Directors. Of course, she'd tell me that.

I sighed at that, before I turned to the rest of the members, who were still arguing with each other, before I took in a deep breath, and then shouted loudly, "ENOUGH!"

Hearing me shouted in the room putted everyone in complete silence, as the members all turned to look at me to hear me speak. I then cleared my throat and said, "The President and CEO of the Shining Artist of Shindou Corporation has presented himself to us and here to speak with us, and as the head of the board, I would like for us to hear what it is he has to say, without ANY further arguments, nor ANY further objections. Are we clear?"

The board members looked at each other for a moment, before they nodded, and agreed to listen. Satou and Kimura were reluctant, but they sighed and relented, reluctantly agreeing to listen to President Shindou. I nodded to them and said, "Good." I then turned back to President Shindou and his daughters and said to them, "I apologize for their behavior. It's been…well, a rough day for us since what had happened with Mr. Kobayashi and Homurahara Academy. It's been making few of us…stressed out because of what is going on with everyone in Fuyuki."

"I understand." said President Shindou.

"Thank you." I said, "Now then, go ahead. Let's hear what you have to say."

"Thank you." said President Shindou, "Let's get straight to the point." He then looked at each and every one of us as he said, "Now, as any of you, no doubt surmised, I've come here to speak with all of you, regarding about the…decision that you've made for the academy. So, then, I gather that…all of you made the decision of shutting down Homurahara Academy, then? Because of what had transpired with the former principal of said academy, Kobayashi?"

I looked at the board members as they remained silent, as if not wanting to speak up to say anything yet. Then, just when I was about to say something, Sakuragi spoke for us, "Umm…for the most part, President Shindou. Most of us decided that because of what had…transpired with former principal Kobayashi, as well as what he did with the money that was loan to him by us, it was thought that it was better to…put an end to things. So, that's why we decided to shut down Homurahara Academy for good."

"Hmph." said Mr. Satou, "Well, obviously. That weak-minded fool couldn't possibly due his job properly as a principal, all because of that one student was blackmailing him, and it's no more than a foolish child. Not to mention the fact that he's been lying to all of us about needing money to help support the academy, only to find out that instead he's been using the said money to just clear off this ridiculous debt of his. Plus, those pathetic excuses of those teachers and staffs didn't even bother to do anything to deal with the situation as such. Hell, not even those so-called students of theirs even bothered to call the police when some delinquent went roaming around and doing things as if owning the place for himself, and even when they did, that fool Kobayashi would just deny it to the police. Obviously, it was better that Fuyuki City would be better off without that pathetic excuse of the academy and it's pathetic excuses of teachers and staffs. Besides, it was the one question today to which we all could give a clear, simple, straightforward, and honest answer."

"Indeed." said Kimura, "It was the best decision that we all decided on. Homurahara Academy has become a complete failure since Kobayashi and the rest of the staffs, as well as those so-called students, made complete failures of themselves, all because of one delinquent student that was there. Kobayashi is an adult, and he can't even deal with something called blackmailing. Therefore, we made the right decision of no longer supporting the academy and decided on shutting it down for good. If the Japanese government asked and we told them everything we knew, I'm sure they would've come to an agreement to it."

"Yes, I see." said President Shindou, "Well, I can see why you would make such a decision. Unfortunately, however, and although your answer was indeed clear, simple, and straightforward, there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of the epithets you applied to the statement, and in as much as the precise correlation between the information you communicated and the facts, since so far as they can be determined and demonstrated, is such as to cause epistemological problems of sufficient magnitude as to lay upon the logical and semantic resources of the Japanese language for a heavier burden than they can reasonably be expected to bear."

W-Wait…what? I was utterly shocked to hear what President Shindou just said about our decision we made for Homurahara Academy, as I said, "W-What?"

Each of the members of the Board of Directors, save for Akizawa, were just as shocked to have heard what President Shindou said to us as I was as they looked at each other with mixed expression of shock and confusion of what he was trying to say, before Satou was the first to look back at President Shindou and said, "Epistemological?! What in the world are you talking about?!"

The eldest daughter, Akira, stepped up and said for her father, "What my father means is…well, you made a false statement about Mr. Kobayashi, as well as the teachers and staffs of Homurahara Academy, and the decision that you made was based on your misjudgment towards them. In other words, an error."

"What?" I said, confused.

"A-An error?" said Kimura, confused.

"Yes, an error." said President Shindou.

"What do you mean an error?" said Satou.

"I mean, that you…made an error." said President Shindou.

Everyone in the board, as well as myself, were giving out confused looks, as we didn't understand what he was trying to say or what he meant by that, as I said, "I…don't understand."

Akira looked at her father as she said, "Uh…father…"

"Yes, perhaps this is a difficult concept to get across to politician types of people these days." said President Shindou, before he began to think for moment as he said, "Let's see…you, um…you, uh…uh...and, ah, yes, what I mean is, is that YOU did not accurately made a correction about them."

"Wait, you mean…what do you mean by that?" Takashi asked, confused, "Are you saying that, Kobayashi WAS in debt and was being blackmailed, or what we decided on?"

"Both, actually." said Akira, "Your decision on shutting down Homurahara Academy was made because of what happened with Mr. Kobayashi, without knowing who was involved or what was going on or what he was doing before you even knew of it, was considered not only a mistake, but also a lie."

"What?!" said Kimura, shocked, "Y-Y-You…you can't call that lying! And you can't call our decision a mistake!"

"Really?" said President Shindou, "Then, what exactly would you call the opposite of making a correction, or perhaps the opposite of telling the truth?"

"Well, I mean, there was no such intent." said Yamazaki, "We didn't mean to deceive them, we've never knowingly misled anyone involved in politics."

"Nonetheless, you and the rest of the Board of Directors have done so." said President Shindou.

"W-What?!" I said, shocked, "W-Well, President Shindou, it wasn't any of our fault! And besides, none of us knew the school was on a verge of shutting down, nor did we know that Kobayashi was being blackmailed by that bully delinquent of that disgraceful student!"

"Actually, Mr. Sakakibara," said his secretary, "You and the rest of the board were deemed to have known, you are all ultimately responsible for it."

"What?!" said Satou, shocked and somewhat enraged, "Well then, why weren't we told of this in the first place?!"

I turned to Fukui and gave a stern look as I said sternly, "Fukui, care to explain why we were not informed of this in the beginning?!"

"H-H-Huh?!" Fukui stammered, "U-U-Uh…w-well, I-!"

"The school faculty of Homurahara Academy may not have felt the need to inform any of you of such." said President Shindou, interrupting Fukui.

"What?" I said, "And why is that?"

"Well, perhaps they didn't know either." said President Shindou, "Or perhaps, and in spite of not knowing about Kobayashi's situation regarding his debt and blackmailing, they had been advised by him that you, the Board of Directors, did not need to know."

"Well, we DID need to know!" said Kimura, almost shouting.

"Well, apparently, Mr. Kimura, the fact that you and the board needed to know was not known at the time that the now known need to know was known." said his secretary, "And therefore, those who needed to advise and inform perhaps felt that the information that you needed as to whether to inform the highest authority of the learned information was not yet known. And therefore, there was not authority for authority to be informed, because the need to know was not, at that time, known nor needed, exactly."

We became silent as we all took in what his secretary had just said, before Takashi said in confusion, "Wait, what?"

President Shindou cleared his throat and said, "What we mean is that they would not know that you would make a decision of shutting down Homurahara Academy after the incident with Kobayashi."

"Well, obviously, we would if we didn't know and were asked!" said Satou.

"They did not know that you'd be asked when you didn't know." said President Shindou.

"THERE IS BOUND TO BE ASKED WHEN WE DIDN'T KNOW IF WE DIDN'T KNOW!" Satou shouted, as he got up and slammed his hands on the table.

The room became completely silent from hearing Satou shouting what he said, before President Shindou's second daughter smiled and playfully said, "What~?"

"What?" said Takashi, confused.

President Shindou cleared his throat again before he said, "It was thought that it was better not to inform you. "You see, despite Kobayashi's weak mentality, he was still a principal for Homurahara Academy, and as such, it was thought that it was better not to create distrust towards both you and the school faculties, they only tell when you should be aware."

"And when would that be?" said Satou.

"You should now be aware of it, because you've all just denied it." said President Shindou.

"WHAT?!" Satou shouted, in disbelief.

Hearing what President Shindou said even made us looked in complete disbelief, and I could see Akizawa smiling while holding onto her laughter as she was finding this to be amusing.

Yamazaki sighed and said, "Well, it would've been rather more helpful if we had been aware of it before we made our decision."

"On the contrary," said President Shindou, "If you had been aware before you decided, you wouldn't have decided."

"But we needed to know!" said Kimura, "And those teachers and staffs, they-!"

"They do not always tell you about school bullying, blackmailing, nor about debt dealings when you need to know about it." said President Shindou.

"You see, in times, Board of Directors, they need you not to know." said his secretary.

"Oh, I see!" said Satou, "Did those pathetic excuses of those teachers and staffs decided that we didn't need to know?! Or was it Kobayashi?!"

"No, they didn't." said Akira.

"Well, then who bloody did?!" said Kimura.

"Nobody, actually." said Akira, "It was just that nobody decided to tell you, especially in person."

We became completely shocked and bewildered about what she had just said, before Kimura said, almost shouting, "But that's the same thing!"

"On the contrary," said President Shindou, "To decide to conceal any and all information from you is a heavy burden for any school faculty or even a school official, including Kobayashi, to shoulder. However, to decide not to reveal information to you is considered a routine procedure."

"Well, in that case," said Satou, "Fukui, we need to know everything, now!"

"H-Huh?" said Fukui, surprised, "U-Um…uh…e-everything, Mr. Satou?"

"Yes, everything!" said Satou.

"Uh, well…" said Fukui, with uncertainty, before she looked at me for answers as she asked, "Um…sir?"

I nodded to her and said, "Go ahead, Fukui. Let us hear everything."

"O-Oh, very well, sir." Fukui bowed, "As you wish." She then went on to her tablet as she looks up into every information that she could find in her tablet, before she then began saying, "Uh…well, stationary delivery is this week, as well as two several of releases of school complaints, uh…four dozen packets of-"

"NO!" Satou and Kimura shouted.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Satou shouted, "Fukui, stop being silly! I MEAN important things!"

"O-Oh!" said Fukui, "Um…uh..." Fukui suddenly gave out a nervous smile as she said, "Um…sir, what exactly is important?"

"W-Wait, what?!" both Satou and Kimura said, bewildered by what she asked.

"Yes." said President Shindou's secretary, "How should she decide what is important?"

Most of the board members, as well as me, suddenly became bewildered by this as we tried to say something but couldn't. Even Sakuragi tried to look to Akizawa, who kept herself quiet, for answers. Then, infuriated by this, Satou slammed his hand on the desk and shouted, "DAMMIT! How could you people possibly defend this cock-up?!"

"Well, as I've said before," said President Shindou, "You've made an error."

"No, YOU PEOPLE made an error!" said Satou.

"Actually, I'm merely a simple CEO of the business corporation." said President Shindou, with a smirk, "What happened with Homurahara Academy has nothing to do with my business nor my family. In fact, Kobayashi is the one responsible for making the decision before his suicidal death, and not the school faculty."

"Well then, we should've at least had him resigned in the first place." said Yamazaki.

"Actually, with all due respect," said President Shindou, "You should only ask Kobayashi to resign from his position when he's made a mistake, which could've been seen at the time and not the benefit of hindsight."

"I see." I said, "Well, I'm sorry to say this, President Shindou, but that doesn't change the fact that the teachers and staffs of Homurahara Academy are complete failures, especially since what had happened with Kobayashi. They're lack of actions to deal with the situation with the academy's worst student, as well as what Kobayashi was doing to steal money to clear of his debt, has cost the board greatly. In fact, it's because of their lack of actions, it has shown us that the teachers and staffs were no more than failures, incompetence, a bunch of sorry excuses, and a complete disgrace to teaching Homurahara Academy, as well as failures towards those so-called students of theirs, who they should've been helping them learn, not fooling with themselves. In fact, these so-called students of theirs all act as no more than mere infants, nothing more than little children instead of full fledge adults. They hardly even show any signs of maturity, respect, or even discipline for that matter. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised that those foolish and disgraceful teachers and staffs didn't teach those kids ANYTHING in their school."

"Really?" said President Shindou, "Is that how you truly see them as? Failures? Disgraces? Immature? Irresponsible? People who has no knowledge nor understanding of anything whatsoever? If anything, I would say that YOU PEOPLE are the ones who lack understanding of what those students and teachers are going through throughout their entire school years. And that is why you fail to see that you've made an error."

I gasped, as I was shocked at what he just said, I turned to him and said, almost shouting, "W-What?!" Even most of the board members were shocked from what President Shindou just said about all of us.

"Tell me this," said President Shindou, "Have any of you board members ever graduated from high schools such as Homurahara Academy? Have you ever looked back on your younger days on how your school had taught YOU anything, or how it had shaped you to become the people you are today? Had any of you EVER thought back on how you once were during your time, on how once weak you were, but have changed to a completely different person BECAUSE of the school you once attended, and how graduating from school made you better or successful? Well, have you?"

Me and all of the board members looked at each other, as we took in what he was asking us, before we tried to think as we tried to think back on our past, before President Shindou said, getting back our attention, "No? Well, I have. And let me tell you, my life back then was completely different than the life I have now, as well as the lives of the current generation that is today."

He then took a deep breath, before he began, "Before I became a rich and successful artist, as well as becoming the president and CEO of the artistic company that I currently run to this day, in my youth, I was once a poor young boy who lived in the countryside on a Japanese styled hut that stood by a beautiful lake. Not completely dirt poor, but poor enough to remain in the middle class, managing whatever me, my siblings, and my parents could manage in our home, and on our small farming and crops. It was a difficult life, but it was an everlasting, peaceful, and manageable life. Like many, I go to school every day, and I studied hard to the best of my ability to make myself better for my family. The school that I attended to was an old school, and only having one class that taught all grades, with one teacher teaching all of them. During my younger years in school, I discovered that I had a talent for art, and, wanting to use my skills in art, I decided to study on art and drawing, bettering my skills on art, and to create what I thought of wanting to make them as if they were coming to life. Everything I did, studying in art, I did so on my own, without the reliance of others. One day, during my early teen years, I was told that I could study in a high school academy, far away from home to a city. And because of my family life, if I had wanted to further my education as well as find a way to improve the living that I had, I had no choice but to leave the countryside as well as used whatever savings that I had to attend high school. Like most of the younger generations today, I had struggled, I had pushed myself to the very limit, and I had tried my hardest to study my way up in many of my classes, as well as further improving my skills in art. But most importantly, I learned, about myself and about others, as well as the world, and I changed. High school life was a difficult time for me, but I did learn so much from it, as well as changed myself, shaped me into becoming who I am now. And when I graduated high school, I felt like a better man that I am today, and I then I went to attend college to further my studies and improving my skills on art. After that, I decided to run an art business that is today, and I became rich, then I met my wife, got married, and had children of my very own."

Hearing him mentioning about them made both this daughters smiled, as Akira bowed to her father while Megumi gave a gesture of waving, and his secretary even made a small smile to him. For most the board members, saved for Akizawa, were in complete astonishment hearing his story. Of course, even I was amazed by his story.

"So, you see," said President Shindou, "High schools, such as the case of Homurahara Academy, not only can it give out learning towards the younger generations of students, but also complete changes in them, and shape them to becoming who they wish to be, and Homurahara Academy has given such great changes towards those who have graduated from it, such as the case with Ms. Sakura Matou, who decided to stay to teach English for newer students, Ms. Ayako Mitsuzuri, who also decided to stay to teach Math, as well as many others who decided to not only to teach, but also to make changes for the younger generations, just as it changed them. So, whatever you say about them is considered wrong, and it does NOT give you the place nor right to judge the merit of the school for which YOU have only observed superficially! And, the trouble that is now has arisen, because of your error of judgement in making such decision of shutting down Homurahara Academy!"

"WHAT?!" we all shouted, incredulously.

"You should NOT have made a decision of shutting down Homurahara Academy BECAUSE of what Kobayashi did!" said President Shindou, sternly, "Nor SHOULD you have placed the blame on the teachers and staffs about Kobayashi and his situation in which neither they or you DID not know!"

"But that was your fault!" Satou shouted, "You JUST admit it! They were keeping secrets from the Board of Directors!"

"Not at all, actually." said President Shindou, "The system works perfectly well, for as long as the Board tells out everything that they are going to say before they say it. However, if percipiently, they say something without even first clearing with an official, they have only themselves to blame, so none of you should say anything in public without first clearing with—with respect, you all must learn discretion."

"What?!" said Kimura, shocked, "Discretion?!"

"We weren't aware there was anything to be discreet about!" said Yamazaki.

"Well, you should now." said President Shindou, "Because there is always discretion. Whether inside or outside of government, there is always, ALWAYS something to be discreet about."

After hearing that, I as well as all the board members looked at each other, as we all took in what President Shindou said.

* * *

Mirai's POV:

It was the middle of the afternoon, as my companions and I, except for Hiroko, as well as Assassin in his spiritual form, were out walking in the middle of the city. We were out searching for the Master of Archer named Manami Asakura, a half French and half Japanese woman, as well as the secret base of operation for the Master and the Archer-Class Servant. This Master of Archer, despite having a handicap, is known to be one of the most formidable opponents, standing equal to, if not more, to me, making her a worthy opponent. The information about her whereabouts led us to believe that she's residing in one of the buildings in this city, possibly the tallest one.

"Aimi, are you sure that the Master of Archer is here in the city?" Sayaka asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." said Aimi, "If my sources are correct, she should be at the building with the flag pole on the top of its rooftop. They say that the building is a daycare center."

"A place for children." Sayaka guessed.

"Precisely." said Aimi.

"Well, that sure is the best place we could go to." said Sayaka.

"Aimi, do you have any information about Manami Asakura?" I asked.

"Yes, milady." said Aimi, "According to her biography, Manami Asakura was once an orphan that was run by the Holy Church, and was raised under their care ever since both her parents died in an accident, resulting in her legs becoming dysfunctional. However, after discovering that she had Magic Circuits and had the ability to use Magecraft, she was transferred from the Church to the Mage's Association to train under them to become a proper mage, and despite her handicap, she proved herself to be quite a powerful mage, efficient in both healing and Elemental Magecraft. In other words, and as you could guess, she is equal to you, milady."

"I see." I said, "And, any reasons as to why she would choose a daycare as a base of operation?"

"Actually, yes, I believe there is." said Aimi, "You see, Asakura happens to be caring for children who happens to be orphans just like her. After leaving the Mage's Association, Asakura had created and ran her own orphanage as a means to take in and raise children who are orphans just like her, loving them and caring for them, acting as a mother figure to all of them. According to the orphanage that she runs, she happens to have taken in fifty orphaned children, most of the children who have lost their parents, while some few of them were abandoned by their parents. Perhaps the reason why she would choose a daycare as a base of operation is so that she could bring the orphaned children there to be kept safe and sound, away from the Holy Grail War."

"I see." I said.

"Well, that would explain it." said Sayaka, "She must've been chosen by the grail to become a participant, so she could fight for the kids."

"Correct." said Aimi, "Perhaps the reason why she brought the orphaned children with her was because she does not wish to leave and abandon the children, as she loves the children very dearly. It is likely that she chose not to leave them be in the orphanage that she runs is, because it is likely that if she left them to be at the orphanage, the other Masters and Servants would've gone after them in order to get to her, and the children would not be safe from the war. Moving the children to a different location was perhaps the safest option for her to use."

"Huh." said Sayaka, "Quick thinking."

"Indeed." said Aimi, "Also, since she used to have a connection with the Holy Church, as well as a connection with France, it is likely that she will be having allies from the Church to fight with her, likely the one in France."

"I see." I said, "Any info on what her chosen Servant is as well?"

"That, sadly, I do not." said Aimi, "However, I did manage to have found something that had slipped while I was searching for information. Apparently, she was seen to be holding what appeared to have been a golden apple."

"Huh?" said Sayaka, confused, "The heck? Why an apple? Were you sure she wasn't saving that for lunch or something?"

"Ah, actually, Sayaka, I do not believe that it was an apple for eating lunch." Aimi smiled at Sayaka, before she became serious again and said, "Actually, I believe it was no ordinary apple. I believe it was a relic from Greek Mythology."

Sayaka gasped at that and said, "Wait a sec, a relic…? And it's from Greek Mythology…?"

"Yes." said Aimi, "And if my assumptions are correct, I believe her Servant Archer could be…"

"Atalanta." I finished for her, "Also known as the Chaste Huntress. She is a huntress who is famous for her swift feet in Ancient Greek legend. She's quite famous in Greek for being the first to drive an arrow into the Calydonian Boar during its extermination, as well as a member of the Argonauts, which assembled brave heroes from all over Greece. I heard she's a very formidable opponent in Greek legend, with her speed and her skills in archery."

"Yes." said Aimi, "And, I believe that there is a reason why she chose to have Atalanta as her Archer-Class Servant."

"Something to do with her past?" Sayaka guessed.

"Yes." said Aimi, "She has the tragic past of being born as the daughter of a king of a certain country and yet being abandoned in the mountains by her father, somewhat quite similar to how Asakura lost her parents. According to Atalanta's legend, long before she became a member of the Argonauts, she was born as the daughter of King Iasus of Arcadia. However, although she was born in and as the princess of the natural paradise, Atalanta ended up being abandoned in the forests and on the mountains immediately she was born as she was shunned by her father, who desired a son rather than a daughter. However, she had survived thanks to the divine protection from Artemis, the Virgin Moon Goddess and Goddess of the Hunt of Greek Mythology, who felt pity for her. Artemis sent and made a female bear, a sacred beast of the goddess, nurture the girl by giving her milk and raising her up. In gratitude, Atalanta is a fervent follower of Artemis. Since then and throughout her history, while she became known as the fierce huntress in Greek, she also became a symbol of purity for children. In other words, what Atalanta desires is for the happiness, love, and the salvation of all children throughout the whole world, far and wide."

"I see." I said, "So, the reason why Manami Asakura chose Atalanta to be her Servant as an Archer, is because she shares and desires the same wish that Atalanta has; the salvation for all children."

"Precisely." said Aimi, "And if that is so, it is likely that since they share a noble cause, they both would get along well together as Master and Servant, and would both make an impactful team."

"Huh." said Sayaka, before rubbing the back of her head, "Well, I'll be damned. Jeez, this is just our luck. We'll be going against the Master of Archer who's on the same level of Ojou-sama, along with that damn virgin huntress whose power lies in speed and precision. I don't know if we can handle people like that."

"Indeed." said Aimi, "And…even if she didn't have the Church as her allies, she's not only powerful, she's also very calculative and intelligent in combat, perhaps even on par with you, even with your Mystic Eyes, and she will find her way to defeat her opponents by any means necessary."

"I see." I said, "Well, I believe I may beg to differ to that."

"Hmm?" said Aimi, "How so, Ojou-sama?"

"Do you remember what you said about the orphan kids and the Church being her allies?" I asked, and the two nodded, before I said, "Well, if she were to have the Church as her allies, I believe that the Church will likely to have them fight against all of you and not have her and her Servant go against all of us. If I'm right about this, I believe that she intends to fight us in a fair fight rather than using underhanded tactics. And, if she intends to go against her opponents in a fair fight, it is likely that she'll have her Servant go against Assassin while she deals with me, while the Church goes to you."

"In other words," said Assassin, telepathically, "She's going by the merit of chivalry."

"Precisely." I said, "Plus, since she values the orphaned children as if they're her own, I believe she's more of a good person. If anything, she's actually quite similar to a certain someone that we know. I wouldn't be surprised that those two Masters would get along quite well."

"Ah, I see." said Aimi, before she smiled and nodded, "Yes, I wholeheartedly agree!"

"Well, yeah." said Sayaka, rubbing the back of her head, "I guess. I mean, he's still a stupid idiot, but yeah, I guess."

"Speaking of which," I said, "I had sent Hiroko to go and watch over him and his girlfriend today to keep an eye on them. From what I hear from Hiroko through my familiar I sent out to her, he and Saber seems to be practicing swordplay on the free time that they have while his childhood girlfriend watches. I suppose he believes that since he has nothing better to do, he might as well start improving his fighting skills for his next battle in the Holy Grail War. And, based on his progress, it seems to be running very slow. However, it is going very slightly well for him."

"Oh, wow!" said Aimi, amazed, "I'm quite amazed."

"Well, make sense." said Sayaka, "Since, technically, he IS a Master and IS a part of the Holy Grail War. Though, I don't see why we have to take turns watching over and babysitting them from afar."

"Well," I said, "We did promise him we would provide protection and the guarantee of the safety of his friend and the girl he loves after all, as well as make sure that absolutely nothing happens to them or his girl during the Grail War. Besides, we are in an alliance now, and we need him as our greatest ally."

"Well, yeah, I guess it's true." said Sayaka.

"Indeed." Aimi smiled.

"Master," said Assassin, telepathically, "I meant to ask you about this later, but…about that girl that the kid is with, wouldn't she just become a distraction for him?"

"Oh?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him, "And why would you believe that as such, Assassin?"

"I'm…concerned." said Assassin, "The girl that is with the kid will just plague his thoughts and feelings, as well as his concentration on his battles. His concern for her well-being is too strong, and it could affect him greatly during the Grail War. His feelings and emotions for that girl could get the better of him, and could even get himself killed if he ever tries to concern himself to her, hence greatly affecting our end of the side. Just as his feelings and emotions got the better of him during our fight with Caster."

I chuckled a bit and then said, "You're concern for something so trivial, such as about Yuzuru is not necessary, Assassin. Caster only got the better of his emotions BEFORE we made an alliance with him, as well as before we agreed to guarantee the girl's safety. Surely, you should know the difference by now, and surely, you wouldn't expect something such as that were to happen a second time."

"Well, yes, and of course not." said Assassin, telepathically, "But-"

"And besides," I said, cutting him off, "That girl is not a distraction for him; she's a necessity."

"Hmm?" said Assassin, telepathically, confused, "A necessity?"

"Yes." I said, before I began explaining, "You see, Assassin, good men like Yuzuru needs something that drives him, something that pushes him to go even far beyond his limits, to push himself to become stronger for said something that drives him, hence making him improve himself to become much better than he is now, hence making him well suited for that something, as well as driving his desire to protect said something that is very precious to him. In other words, what Yuzuru needs is motivation, and what better person to motivate him than the very girl of his dream?"

"I see." said Assassin, telepathically, "In other words, that girl is necessary, because she "motivates" him to become better and stronger, in order to protect her."

"Precisely." I said, "As I said, she's not a distraction, but a necessity. And besides, we made a deal with him to protect her, so should she be in any real danger, we'll be doing the work of protecting her on his behalf. As I said, we're in an alliance with him, so no Master or Servant will get to her or his friends."

"I see." said Assassin, telepathically.

"Anymore concerns regarding that, Assassin?" I asked, as I smiled at him.

He remained silent for a moment, before he said, "No, Master, none."

"Good." I said, "Now, while Yuzuru is busy playing with his princess, we'll be onto the matter at our end: reconnaissance. Looking for whatever it is we can find on the other Masters and Servants."

"Very well." said Assassin, telepathically.

"Uh…guys?" I heard Sayaka spoke.

"Yes, Sayaka?" I turned to her, and I saw she a shocked and disturbed look on her face.

"Uh…y-y-you…" said Sayaka, keeping her shocked and disturbed look, as she began pointing, "Y-You might…wanna look at that…"

Confused, me and Aimi looked at each other, before we turned to where Sayaka was pointing at, and…much to our shock, what we saw was…disastrous.

Far in front of us was the building that we were looking for. Except, it was covered in complete blackness, as if it was caught on fire long ago. The building looked to remain intact, but overall, it looked to be in complete ruins. The outside of the building had burned marks everywhere, and all the windows were shattered into pieces. It looked…horrible, as if something must've happened long before the Grail War even started. What in the world happened there?

We quickly looked ahead to see that there were a couple of policemen at the front door of the building, before I turned to Sayaka and Aimi and said, "We should find out what had happened. Let's ask them." The two nodded at my suggestion before we quickly went to go ask the policemen.

As soon as we got closer to the building, I stopped to speak to the nearby policeman and asked, "Excuse me, officer, I apologize for interrupting, but can I ask of you what exactly happened here?"

"Oh, hello, little miss." said the police officer, after he noticed me, "Well, it's pretty hard to say, but I'm pretty sure from the looks of the building, I think there was some sort of fire that was going on for some time ago. I'm not sure when, why, or how it even started. It probably started from robbery, but until we can figure it out what caused it, that's about as much as we can investigate from this poor building." He then turned to look at the building and said, "I gonna say though, it sure looks pretty bad. Even though the building is okay now after the fire stopped, I'm still not sure if there's even any survivors in there. Heard that this place was filled with mostly orphaned kids. Those poor souls."

"I see." I said.

"Well, anyway, that's as much as I can tell you ladies." said the police officer, "You three should probably leave and head home for today. Sorry, but it's still not safe for you girls to be here. Police work and all."

"Ah, yes, of course." I nodded with a smile, "I understand, officer, thank you."

The police officer nodded back with a smile before he turned away from us to meet up with his fellow policeman as they then began talking to each other. I then felt Assassin's hand on my shoulder as he said to me telepathically, "Master, there's an alleyway that goes behind this building. We can make our way up to the top of the building before we find our way in."

"I see." I thought, "Good. Thank you, Assassin." I then turned my head and whispered to Sayaka and Aimi, "I know another way in. Follow me."

The two nodded to me, before we looked back at the policemen to see that they were still talking to each other, no longer noticing us. I then nodded to them, signaling them to go before we began to quickly move to the alleyway silently and discreetly, before the policemen could even spot us.

We quickly found the clear spot behind the building before we stopped to look up at the top of the building. Assassin materialized himself to his physical form as soon as the coast was clear. We took a moment to look up at the top of the building, before, seeing that we jump our way up, we began chanting, "Es ist gross. es ist klein. ¡Vox Gott Es Altas! (It is large. it is small. ¡The Voice of God is the World!)" After chanting that and enhancing our legs, we jumped up high at the speed of sound, before we began to fall as we began to land on the building.

"Luft der Leichtigkeit (Air of Lightness)." I chanted in German, before a sudden gust of wind surrounded us, making us light as the wind, as we began to land gently on the roof of the building.

"Well, we made it." said Sayaka, as she pulled out her guns, "But we gotta be cautious. Who knows who's or what's in there."

"Right." said Aimi, as she brought out her throwing knives.

Assassin pulled out his combat knife to prepare himself as well.

We then went to the rooftop door of the building, as I cautiously went up to open it first. Slowly, I opened to the door and took a peak inside. Aside from the inside being dark, everything inside seemed to be clear, so I opened the door widely before I turned to my companions and my Servant and nodded to them, signaling to them that it was clear. They nodded back before Sayaka stepped up and decided to take the lead and went inside, with her guns pointed and ready.

Aimi went in after her next, before I turned to Assassin and commanded, "Watch our backs when we get in." Assassin nodded to the command, before I went inside to go after them, with Assassin following me from behind.

As soon as we got in, I quickly went to see if we could turn on the lights inside since it was too dark. Unfortunately, the light switches were not working; must've been cut off and broken after the fire, so I brought out a gemstone and used it to flash out bright light to light up the entire room. As soon as I did so, we took a look at our surroundings.

Aside from the burned marks all around the place that were caught from the fire, the inside of the building was very large, as it had multiple rooms that were lined in ten on both sides of the hallways; few of those doors were broken to pieces. Honestly, we were pretty amazed at how big this place of the building really was.

"Whoa…!" said Sayaka, amazed, as she looked around the place for a bit, "You know, for a place to be called a daycare, this place sure is amazingly big."

"Well, I did say that Asakura happens to have taken in fifty orphaned children while running an orphanage." Aimi smiled, "So, I suppose it's likely that these rooms here are for the children who're staying here during the Grail War, likely for safety purposes."

I went to one of the doors to the room and opened it to check and see, and sure enough, it was a room for a child to stay in. I then went for the next one to check, and it was just the same as the other. All of these doors lead to rooms for each of the children to stay in. Aside from the burned marks around the rooms from the fire, as well as the burned items for children that were lying on the floor, they were all mostly empty.

"Hmmm…" I thought, as I looked around, before I used my Mystic Eyes of Retrocognition to look into the past, before the fire had occurred. Through my eyes, I could see one of the children, a boy, was playing with his action figure toy in his room, enjoying the fun he was having. He was…happy, as were the other kids in the other rooms. Then, someone knocked on the door, before it opened to reveal an unidentified person, a body, specifically a man. And, the way he was dressed in a robe, he had to be a member of the Church. The boy looked at him as if he was listening to what the man was saying, before he got up on his feet and went to him, before the man brought his hands to the boy's back, as he began to lead him somewhere. I continued to use my eyes to look further, and I saw that it was the same for the other children. None of the children came back to their own rooms after that.

I then stopped using my Mystic Eyes before I said, "Someone from the Church was dragging the children one-by-one to somewhere, as if he was bringing them to show them something. However, none of the children made it back to their rooms."

"What?" said Sayaka, confused, "I don't get it. What could he wanted to show the kids?"

"I don't know." I said, "However, I believe it has something to do with the fire that happened here." I then turned to my companions as I commanded, "Let's split up and search around the place, see what we can find so we may know what happened here before the fire had occurred. Report back to me if you found anything."

"Right." Sayaka nodded.

"Understood." Aimi bowed.

"Assassin, you're with me." I said.

"Right." Assassin nodded.

Then, we split up and went to different directions to search for clues.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I walked around this huge place of a daycare, until I found myself in a place that seemed to be a kitchen. I looked around, readying myself with my gun with my flashlight on to see if there was any danger. I looked around while aiming with my gun, only to see that the coast was clear, no enemy in sight. Even though it was clear, I kept my gun in my hand just in case while lowering it, and then looked around the kitchen. My god, this place is a mess. Burned marks everywhere, as well as dirty stains and messed up kitchen utensils everywhere.

Suddenly, I took a sniff of my noise and…I smelt something awful. It was…

"Ugh…oh, god!" I said, disgusted, while covering my mouth, as I felt like I was about to throw up, "What the hell?! Ugh, the hell's with this rotten smell?! Urgh, god, this place reeks of blood! Who in the fucking hell reek this place with blood?! God, this is JUST my luck! It smells like people died here!"

I then gasped, and thought…wait…the smell of blood…did…something happened here? Did somebody die?!

I looked around the kitchen again to see where the smell was coming from, and even though I hate the smell, I had to sniff this rotten stench in order to find the source of it. I kept of smelling this awful stench, dear god, I fucking hate it, until I found where it came from, the storage room. Thought that there could be danger inside, I quickly went to the side of the door and readied my gun, before I brought my hand to the door handle to prepare to open it. I sighed and readied myself to open on my count.

…3…2…1…now!

After the last count, in a flash, I quickly opened the door real hard, slamming it, and breaking it in the process, before I readied myself and aimed my gun at whatever it was inside, before I suddenly gasped, only as I saw what was a horrible sight to see. Oh, my god…! This is…! Right in front of me was…completely awful. What I saw was a pile of small dead bodies that were lying on the floor, all burned, gouged up and completely unrecognizable.

I remained where I was for a moment, as I was still in complete shock from what I was seeing, before I managed to recover and when to inspect the bodies. Aside from the burns that they suffered from the fire, they looked…horrible. These bodies, based on their size, they must be the bodies of the orphaned children. The only things that remain are the head and the body. I looked at each bodies and noticed that all their arms and legs were missing, and their insides were cut opened, and the organs insides, including their hearts, were gone. My god…who could've done this to them? And why did they do it?

* * *

Aimi's POV:

I found myself in what appears to be a library that was full of books, mostly books for children. Just like the building, the whole library had unfortunately been caught by the fire. All the books were burned out, leaving only burned marks on them. Even when some of them were opened, the pages were also burned out and they were all unreadable. I looked around the library for a moment, before suddenly, I noticed something that was on the library desk.

On the library desk was…a book! Of course, the cover was burned from the fire. However, the pages remained intact. Seeing that book there, I quickly went over to the book to look at it. The cover of the book was burned, so the title could not be read, but I should be able to read it and see what it is about. To be honest, it's actually a miracle that this book managed to survive the flames. I opened the book and began reading the pages to see what this book was about.

Kept on looking and reading the pages, processing any and all information that I could find in this book, until finally, I could see and process what this book was about, making me gasped in shock at what kind of book this was that I was reading.

"N-No way…!" I said, shocked, "This can't be…! T-This book is…!"

* * *

Mirai's POV:

Me and Assassin were looking around the building until we found a room that leads to somewhere. We both stood at the sides of the door, before taking a peek inside. Inside the room, we could see there was a summoning circle that was drawn on the ground. This must be the place where they summon their Servant. I looked at Assassin as he looked back at me, before we nodded to each other, and then we slowly opened the door and slowly went inside the room. As soon as we got in, the gemstone that I used for light lit up the room, giving us a better view of what we were seeing inside the room.

In the room, and right in front of us, we saw the summoning circle that was drawn on the floor, and based on the condition of how almost faint and worn out it looked, it is likely that the summoning circle had already been used, and a Servant has already been summoned into the Grail War. However, what we found was even more disrupting, and it was on the summoning circle. What we saw was…a corpse of someone or something. The corpse was completely burned and looked completely unrecognizable. And, on the stone counter, there was the golden apple that was intended to be used as a catalyst for Atalanta.

I looked at Assassin and ordered, "Assassin, go and check on the catalyst. I'll take a look at the corpse here."

Assassin nodded before he went to go over to the catalyst, while I knelt down and inspected the corpse. As I looked at the corpse, even though it was unrecognizable, I immediately saw this former body of a person was not ordinary, as it was something else other than human.

"No way…!" I said, shocked, as I kept looking at it, "This corpse…it's not human. No. Rather, it's no longer human…it's a body of a Dead Apostle…!" But, why would a Dead Apostle be here and on the summoning circle? Unless…it was used as a sacrifice for summoning a Servant? Then, that mean…!

"Wait…!" I heard Assassin said, making me look up at him, before he said to me, "Master, this apple hasn't been used as a catalyst to summon a Servant!"

I gasped from hearing him say that. "I knew it!" I thought, "So, then this corpse of a Dead Apostle was used to summon a Servant, and not the apple! Which means, Atalanta was not summoned as a Servant! But…the question is, who used this Dead Apostle to summon a Servant?! And…who was this person before they became an Apostle?!"

Then, I noticed something, and at the side of the circle was…a wheelchair. Wait a second…

I quickly went over to the wheelchair and took a look at it for a moment, before I remembered something and said, "Manami Asakura has a handicap, and it's her disabled legs. Which means, this wheelchair belongs to Manami Asakura! But then, if this is here, then where is Asakura?!"

I took a look at the wheelchair for a moment, before I used my Mystic Eyes again to look into the past. Through my eyes, I could see that there was a woman, likely Manami Asakura, as she had fell off her wheelchair, and then looked as if she was choking herself, as if struggling what was being happened to her, and she looked as if she was screaming out loud, as if something terrible was being happened to her. I tried to look further deep what happened, but…everything soon became unclear of what happened, forcing me to stop using my Mystic Eyes.

"Augh!" I winched in pain from that, as I placed my hand on my head, before shaking my head and cursed, "Dammit…!"

"Master, what's wrong?!" said Assassin, sounding concerned, "What did you see?!"

"I-I…I'm not sure…" I said, as I began to recover, "But…from what I saw through my Mystic Eyes, I saw Manami Asakura, and…she looked as if she was suffering, as if she was struggling with herself. Something terrible must've happened to her, but…from what, I'm unsure. And beyond what happened next, I don't know. However, one thing's for sure. Manami Asakura is likely dead."

"I see." said Assassin.

I then got up and said, "Well, anyway, we've learned what we can here. Let's leave this place while we can and regroup with the others. We'll go over what we've learned back at the Tohsaka Mansion."

"Understood." said Assassin, before he began dematerializing into spiritual form.

I sighed to myself and said as I began to leave, "And we better be prepared for whoever did this to this place."

* * *

Rokurou's POV:

It was now in the middle of the evening, as President Shindou and his two daughters had already left our office after telling us what he had to say. I standing and looking out the window with my hands behind my back, as I began to think back on what President Shindou said to us before he left.

* * *

Flashback:

"Here is what I intend to do now." said President Shindou, "I heard that everyone outside that wishes to have their Homurahara Academy back are planning on making donation for the school to return it to running again for everyone to come back and attend to, and even though it has little effort, it is showing that the donation is doing the best it can to bring their academy back to how it was before. So, what I will do is make a donation with my money and give them exactly what they need to bring their academy back. However, I will only do so based on whether you change your minds on shutting down the academy or not. Take the time that you have and think back on what I have said to all of you, as well as the errors that you have made on the teachers and staffs who are innocent of what Kobayashi did to the academy, and then decide whether you intend to support the Homurahara Academy again or not. Think hard on this, and decide soon."

* * *

Now:

I remained silent as I thought back on what President Shindou said, before I heard Satou shouted, "THIS IS OUTRAGE!"

I turned back to my fellow board members as they were arguing about what President Shindou said to us before he left.

"Who does this man even THINK he is?!" Satou shouted, "First he came here personally and rubbed whatever he said about 'discretion' in front of our faces, and then he PULLS THIS?! And him thinking that the failures of those teachers and staffs are innocent?! That's just pure UTTER NONSENSE!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Takashi, waving his hands, "Whoa, there, Satou! You're WAY out of line there! There's no definite proof that those teachers and staffs are failures, nor is there proof that they had anything to do with Kobayashi and his complete antics. Besides, they said it themselves before too, remember? That they didn't know that Kobayashi was being blackmailed nor was he even in debt. Hell, even we didn't know that ourselves!"

"Which is precisely the problem!" Kimura argued, "Had they known about this, then they should've informed to us in the first place! And had they known Kobayashi had been lying to us and told us in the first place, we wouldn't be giving away our money to him in the first place, so that he could clear away his ridiculous debt! And what's more, they even allowed the worst student to enter their school, and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, as well as bullying and hurting other students!"

"You speak of matters that should've been a benefit of hindsight!" said Yamazaki, "Even if they could do so as such, what good could it possibly do?! If any of them or even Kobayashi tried to tell us, the police, or anyone what was going on in the first place, the situation would've likely worsened! What matters now, is what we should intend to do next!"

"He's right." said Sakuragi, "We need to think about what we should do now, and if we should reconsider our decision on shutting down the academy for good. Besides, we all heard what President Shindou said, we made a mistake!"

"He didn't prove we made a mistake on anything!" said Kimura, "In fact, you can't prove that we made an error on our decision! It's complete utter nonsense!"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, silencing the board members, before I took a deep breath and calmed myself, before I said, "The choices that we have now is considered quite a few. Thinking about it now, I can see that perhaps it may not end well in our favor. Fukui, show us the news channel."

"Yes, sir." Fukui nodded, before she turned on the TV to show us the news channel.

"As if now, the situation is still continuing to get worse as time passes by for Homurahara Academy to be shut down completely." said the news reporter, "Here, we can see that many of the Fuyuki residences continue to raise their strike to bringing back their once prestigious academy; family and friends, and many who had once graduated from the academy, as well as the current students of Homurahara Academy. Here, we have a former student as well as former teacher of Homurahara Academy joining us today, Mrs. Taiga Fujimura. Tell me, Mrs. Fujimura, how do you feel about-?"

In the TV news, the woman on screen, Taiga Fujimura, who appears to be in mid-thirties, with matching short light brown hair and eyes, wears a green dress with a yellow and black stripe shirt and white shoes, quickly snatched the microphone from the news reporter, before she looked comically angrily at the camera before shouting at the camera, "HEY, YOU MOTHER FUCKERS OF BOARD DIRECTING ASSHOLES! YOU SEE ME?! YOU SEE MY FACE RIGHT NOW?! YOU BETTER BE FUCKING WATCHING THIS, BECAUSE I'M HERE TO SAY TO YOU ASSHOLES ARE MAKING A BIG FUCKING MISTAKE! YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST FUCKING THING ABOUT OUR SCHOOL! YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF TRASHES! YOU SHUT DOWN OUR SCHOOL, AND I'M GONNA COME AND FUCKING KILL YOU FUCKERS! OUR SCHOOL'S THE PLACE FOR EVERYONE FUYUKI HERE TO LEARN, SO DON'T BE TALKING SHIT ABOUT THIS ACADEMY, BECAUE YOU'VE NEVER ATTENDED OUR SCHOOL BEFORE! YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, FUCKERS! I'M GONNA COME FOR YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I'M GONA FU-!"

The TV news suddenly stopped working, showing us only an error screen as it was making a long 'beep' sound, before Fukui then turned off the TV.

I sighed before I said, "Perhaps we may have been making a mistake. We've made an error on making this decision based on our blind judgement towards the teachers and staffs of Homurahara Academy, for something that we didn't even know about."

"You can't believe that, Sakakibara!" said Satou, "YOU lead the Board of Directors, and yet you're now doubting yourself?! What we decided on wasn't a mistake at all! It's foolish people like them who sees that! They have no idea, do not understand, how politics works around here!"

"Then do WE understand HOW life outside of politics work?!" I shouted at Satou, making him look at me with a shocked expression, before I calmed myself and said, "To be completely honest, I've almost completely forgotten what my life was like before I became a head of the Board of Directors. I was a young man then, perhaps even carefree like the rest of those kids, but…now, I've become too absorbed in my work as a member of the Board of Directors, that I didn't have time to reflect in myself, nor to think back on my past."

"Sakakibara…" I heard Sakuragi said.

I heard Yamazaki sighed before he said, "As the eldest of the Board of Directors, I have to admit myself that I've never once attended a high school like Homurahara Academy before. Perhaps, you can even say that in my youth, how I had gain knowledge and understanding about politics was…quite different compared to the younger generations that is today. It's been fifty years for me since then. Perhaps because if it, I too was blind to make false judgement, and it led me astray."

"Yeah, I guess it's the same for me too, I guess." Takashi chuckled, "I mean, I had attended a high school academy once, but I completely forgot about it. Hell, I can't even remember what it was like being in high school. It's kinda silly if you think about it. Though, then again, I was probably a lovable-idiot then as I am now. No wonder I forget things about my past easily, and why I'm the least useful of this bunch. Hahaha."

"Kimura," I said, "What about you? Do you have anything to say?"

Kimura remained silent for a moment, before he sighed and said, "No, sir. I have none, sadly. Actually, to be honest, I never wish to think back on my days during school. Unlike many students, I was…taught in a very strict boarding school, so I never had any kinds of changes or developments like those kids have. It's…why I think that the children in Homurahara Academy are…mostly childish and incompetent. But now, thinking about what President Shindou said, perhaps I may have been wrong about them the whole time."

"W-Well, I have attended high school academy before!" Sakuragi spoke up, "And I have thought back about it sometimes. Back then, when I was in school, I was really shy, and I couldn't talk or interact with people very well, and I would mostly keep things to myself rather than saying what I wanted to say to anyone. I was really alone when I couldn't make any friend because of my shyness. But, then I met Akizawa; she and I became friends and we've been stuck together ever since. And because of her, I was able to overcome my shyness and talk to people now. Honestly, if it weren't for my days in high school, I would've never met Akizawa and overcome my shyness, and we would've never met Sakakibara when we were in college together. That's why, I think that it's wrong to shut down Homurahara Academy, because if we do so, then…these kids won't be able to develop into who they want to be! That's why, we-!"

"That is ENOUGH!" said Satou, sternly, "I care less about any of that nonsense about development that these foolish childish children made in that ridiculous school of theirs! In fact, I highly doubt that any of them have even made any developments at all from those failures of teachers! Which is why we should NOT change our decision on shutting it down! And those foolish people outside, on strike, they're only making meaningless actions and meaningless noises that'll never work! This is why I hate children, especially teenagers!"

"Really, Satou?" I heard Akizawa, who had her arms crossed and eyes closed and had been quiet throughout the entire meeting, finally spoke, "Because it would seem to me that YOU are the one who hasn't developed at all, for an adult, that is."

"W-W-What?!" Satou stammered.

Akizawa then opened her eyes to look at him while keeping her arms crossed and said to him, "If I remember correctly, didn't your wife divorced you, because of your dislike for children while SHE wanted to have children? Didn't that cost you the woman that once loved you the most, who once trusted you the most, only because she saw what and how truly a horrible man you really are when you speak horrible things about children?" Akizawa smirked and said in amusement, "Honestly, I actually find that quite insane. If anything, I would say you're even worse than a simple child."

Satou grumbled at her statement and insult, before he said to her, almost shouting, "Well, what of you, Akizawa?! What do you have to say in this?! You've been acting quiet this whole meeting! Do you have anything to say?!"

"Well," Akizawa began, "As Sakakibara said, the options that we have are quite a few. Even if the academy shuts down for good, these "foolish people" who're making "meaningless actions" and "meaningless noises" won't stop completely. However, that is not the issue that I'm trying to get at. The real issue is Kobayashi. And, as President Shindou, who as I'm sure you're aware by now is my uncle, had said to all of us, there is always discretion. And Kobayashi, in spite of hid weak and disabled mentality, was being discreet with what he had with the money that we offered to him, by lying to us and making us believe that it was for Homurahara Academy, when in reality was to clear off his debt that he had caused towards himself. Of course, he was also being discreet from the teachers and staffs, as well the police who were called by parents of every students. There was no involvement with either the teachers and staffs nor any of the students with Kobayashi's antics, aside from Shichirou Hashimoto, who at the time was blackmailing him to allow him to do as he pleases. As such, since there was he was the one pulling the strings to steal away money from both the academy and the Board of Directors, and no one was aware of that fact, the blame should go to Kobayashi and not them."

"So, now you think that they had nothing to do with it?!" said Satou.

"I'm speaking out the truth." said Akizawa, "As I said before, what Kobayashi did was a despicable and irresponsible act that has caused us greatly and have not only affected the academy, but also the Board of Directors as well, and has caused their academy to be framed by him. However, I never said that THEY were responsible for what HE did to us and their school. Hence, whatever the problems that had been caused by their former principal should not have been laid down onto the teachers and staffs, hence why it should not be resolved by their hands. Especially the students. As that one student said when he barged in during our meeting with the teachers, they had done absolutely nothing wrong, and that gives us no right to yell at them nor treat them as if they're at fault for everything that's already happening right now."

"Tsk." said Satou, "You're only defending that little boy because HE'S your cousin."

Akizawa chuckled with a smirk and said, "Hardly. I'm only pointing out the real fact. The fact that several students defended their teachers and staffs means that we, or rather you, Satou, rubbed them the wrong way, and that they were actually indeed learning from them and developing into better people, even better than you, if I wouldn't be surprised myself. If anything, these "foolish children" are not what you would call "babies" anymore." She then looked serious and added, "Besides, it is as my uncle had said, whatever we said about them is considered wrong, and it doesn't give us the place nor right to judge the merit of the school for which we have only observed superficially, nor should we have placed the blame on the teachers and staffs about Kobayashi and his situation in which neither they or we DID not know about. Instead, we should what we do best, and support Homurahara Academy as the Board of Directors, not go against it because of what Kobayashi did."

Satou grumbled and said, "It's nothing but a complete waste of time…!"

Akizawa smirked and said in amusement, "It's not like you have anything better to do with the "time" that you have, old man." Hearing her say that made Satou grumbled again, before Akizawa added, "Besides, it's like I said, these "meaningless actions" and "meaningless noises" aren't going to stop anytime soon. Oh, and…if words were to reach the Japanese Government, and when they hear the people's reasons, the Japanese Government…will be on their side and not ours."

Kimura sighed and said, "Yes, I see you have a point."

"Yeah, that'd be bad." Takashi chuckled, nervously.

"Then, what do you suggest we do, Akizawa?" Yamazaki asked.

Akizawa then turned to look at me and said, "I suggest that we should accept the terms that President Shindou has made to us, and change the decision that we have made in shutting down Homurahara Academy, and remove any cause made by Kobayashi that has been placed onto the teachers and staffs to relieve them of the burden, Sakakibara. And, we must once again support Homurahara Academy, and leave what had occurred with Kobayashi behind us. If my uncle intends to save Homurahara Academy once we changed our decision, then so be it."

I took in what Akizawa had said to me, before I began to think about it for a moment. Then, after enough thinking, I said, "Yes, you're right, I believe we should."

"W-What?!" said Satou, incredulously, "B-But-!"

"As Akizawa said, the blame should not go to the teachers and staffs." I said, "And, we're the Board of Directors, and it's our duty to support the academy to the best of our abilities. What Kobayashi did was his fault and his alone, because of his discretion. We have to let what he did go to past, and continue supporting the academy and not ridicule it for what he did or for not knowing what he had done. We have to do our duties as members of the Board of Directors to support Homurahara Academy, as they do their duties to help students grow and develop into better people. Therefore, I'm changing my decision on shutting down Homurahara Academy for good." I then raised my hand and asked, "So, are all in favor?"

Seeing that I rose my hand and made a decision on changing it, Akizawa smirked and was the first to raise her hand, signaling that she is in favor of it, before Sakuragi eagerly joined in. Yamazaki chuckled a little before he raised his hand in favor as well, then Takashi shrugged before he raised in favor, and then Kimura raised his in favor. We then looked at Satou, who was the only one left, waiting to see his answer.

Satou grumbled before he raised his hand and said, "Fine! Let's just get this over with. But after this, I'm resigning from the board!"

"Suit yourself, old man." Akizawa chuckled, and Sakuragi giggled.

"Then it's settled." I said, before I turned to Fukui and said, "Fukui, make a call to the front. Have them informed to the Shindous."

"Yes, sir." Fukui nodded, before she brought her phone out, dialed a number and waited for answers. As soon as there was an answer to her phone, she said through her phone, "Yes, this is Fukui. Yes. Tell them that…we've decided on changing our decision. They'll know what we mean. Yes."

* * *

The next day:

Yuzuru's POV:

Morning came by as we got up from bed and we went to brush our teeth and change to our casual clothes. Me, wearing my usual blue t-shirt with my dark blue jacket that consisted with sky blue sleeves and yellow trimming worn over it, a dark navy long pants, and my usual blue sneakers. Minna was wearing a one-piece white dress that have long sleeves and a skirt that reaches to her knees, a light blue jacket over it, a pair of long socks that covers her calves, and a pair of white shoes. Saber was in her black suit. We were in the dining room eating our breakfast quietly.

It's been four days since the announcement of shutting down the academy, and I've been spending my time mostly practicing on my sword skills with Saber helping me. Saber was…well, she was a tough fighter, and she doesn't hold back on striking me, leaving me little to no time to react, and she would make practice real hard for me to go through with, leaving me beaten down most of the time. Hell, I still have bruises from the practices that I went through from her. It was tough, sure, but…at least I was learning little by little, and I'm at least getting the hang of it now. Although, there was a few times that I got distracted, because I felt like someone was watching us from afar, though I decided to ignore it to continue on practicing, keep focus on my skills with a sword. Anyway, as I ate my breakfast quietly, I thought about what Akira-neesan and Megumi-neesan were doing. It's been four days now. I wonder if they've done it already? And if they have, I hope it worked out.

"Yuzuru?" I heard Saber said, making me look up at her, before she asked with a concerned look, "What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you?"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, no, it's nothing. I'm just…thinking about something is all. Don't worry about it, though, it's not important."

"Is that so?" said Saber, "Well, if you insist, I won't ask further."

I nodded and said, "Thanks. Well, anyway, think you're up for more practice?"

"Yes." Saber nodded, "It's a good time for morning practice."

We then heard some rushed footsteps before there was some banging at the door, making us turned to the door.

"I'll go get it." I said, as I got up. I went up to the door and opened it to see who was outside. When I looked outside, I saw Yukitsuki-san standing at the front, with both hands on her knees, and she was panting as if she had run a marathon. She must've run over here from her room, though I didn't expect her to be this tired. I mean, she could've just walked her way here. "Yukitsuki-san!" I said, "Uh…what is it? What's wrong?"

Yukitsuki-san stayed where she was while panting, trying to catch her breath for a moment, before she looked at me and said excitedly, "Shindou-kun, you need to come and to see the news! Something BIG has happened to our school!"

I gasped at hearing that. Could…could this be it?

* * *

We were in Yukitsuki-san's room as the news was being played on TV, as the news reporter said, "In today's news, after the long awaited four days since the day it was announced that the academy is to be in immediate shut down, our prestigious Homurahara Academy has been saved from being shut down and is now once again running back in session. All teachers will continue to teach in Homurahara Academy, and all students who would be transferred to other schools, including exchange students who would return to their respective countries, will continue to stay and learn in this prestigious academy. All and all, Homurahara Academy will continue to resume starting tomorrow."

Hearing what the news said about Homurahara Academy and it's great news, we all began to have smiles on our face and then we began cheering, happy to hear about the news of our academy. Minna hugged me happily while we all cheered for the news, happy to know that she'll be able to stay here in Japan, and I hugged her back, while Saber looked at the TV with a smile on her face. I looked at the TV as the news continued playing. They did it. They actually did it!

The news Reporter then said, "…the ones who had saved our prestigious Homurahara Academy from immediate shut down was done by Shinobu Shindou, the president and CEO of the Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation of Misaki Town, as well as his two heirs to his company, Akira and Megumi Shindou, who had made a greatest donation of millions of yens to save Homurahara Academy."

…Dad, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan.

"No way!" said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, "I can't believe it! The people of the Shindou Corporation actually came here to Fuyuki to help our academy! Isn't that awesome, Shindou-kun?!" She looked at me with sparkles in her eyes, as she was happy to see that my family came here to help, and she doesn't even realize I'm part of that family.

"Uh…yeah." I said, "It sure is."

"Wow! I really can't believe it!" said Yukitsuki-san, excitedly, while looking at the TV, "I can't believe that the Shindou Corporation actually came here! It's a miracle!"

While Yukitsuki-san was distracted by the TV, Minna looked at me with a confused look, as if wondering why I didn't tell her that they were my family. I smiled at her before I brought my finger to my lips, signaling to her that I was keeping it a secret. Minna saw this and looked back at the TV for a moment, before she looked back at me and nodded with a smile, telling me that she understands my reasons, and I nodded back to her in thanks.

"Yuzuru." I heard Saber said, making me turned to look at her, "These people on TV…could they be…?"

I gave Saber the same signal I gave to Minna before I whispered, "I'll explain later. Can you keep it a secret for me for the time being?"

Saber gave me a surprised look for a moment, before she nodded to me and whispered back, "Of course."

"Thanks." I nodded.

"Hey, guys!" we heard Yukitsuki-san said, making us turned to look at her as she said, "We should head to the academy! We gonna see what's going on for ourselves!"

"Huh?" I said, "Are you sure? They said that the school won't start until tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." said Yukitsuki-san, "But, really, I gotta see what's going on for myself! I know that school will be going back good as new, but I wanna go and confirm! So, we should go and see what's happening!"

Hearing what Yukitsuki-san suggested, I thought about it for a moment, before I turned to Minna and Saber, asking if we should, before they both nodded to me, telling me that they should, and I nodded back to them, before I looked back at Yukitsuki-san and said, "Okay, then, let's go to Homurahara Academy. While we're at it, we should call the others."

"Right." Yukitsuki-san nodded, "I'm on it."

* * *

We had just arrived at Homurahara Academy, and at the front of the school gates were lots of people as well as parents and students, who were cheering for the return of Homurahara Academy, while news reporters were giving out the news on camera. Me, Minna, Saber, Yukitsuki-san, Kurosawa-san, and Hiiragi were standing at the far side and watched what was happening, and we just couldn't believe our eyes.

"Wow!" said Yukitsuki-san, amazed, "I…I can't believe this!"

"Well, from the way and looks of things here," Kurosawa-san smirked, "I'd say believe it."

"YEAH!" Hiiragi screamed, excitedly, "THIS IS SO AWESOOOOOME!"

"Yeah." I said, "It is."

"Ja." Minna smiled.

"Indeed." said Saber.

"Well, now that means we can all go back to our beloved school again!" Yukitsuki-san smiled, "I'm really glad! I'm really glad they brought it back!"

"Yeah." I said, as I looked ahead with a smile, "Me, too." I'm really glad they did it.

"Hey, guys!" we heard someone called, and we turned to see that it was Mitsuzuri-sensei and all of our teachers who were waving at us.

"Mitsuzuri-sensei!" I said, surprised.

"Our senseis!" everyone else said, just as surprised as I was.

They came over to us with happy smiles on their faces as they embraced us in their hugs.

"I'm so glad you kids are here!" said Mitsuzuri-sensei, "We were hoping that you guys would come over to see this!"

"YEAH!" Makidera-sensei shouted, excitedly, "OUR SCHOOL'S BACK, BABY!"

"Isn't it great, everyone?" said Saegusa-sensei, happily, "Now, everyone doesn't have to leave the school nor Fuyuki!"

"Yeah." said Himuro-sensei, with a small smile, "And we get to keep our jobs as teachers here."

"Yeah." I said, "That is great news!"

"Right?!" Mitsuzuri-sensei smiled, "And what's more, those guys from the Board of Directors have agreed to help support our school again! It took a lot of time and convincing, but apparently, the guys from the Shindou Corp. managed to get through to them and were able to have them to trust us and support us again! What's more, the Shindou Corp. gave us a shit tons of money for donation and have our school to continue running again! Isn't that awesome or what?!"

"Wow!" Yukitsuki-san smiled, "That's amazing!"

"Yeah." I said, "It sure is." And…I'm glad they did it.

"Ahem." We heard someone said, making us turned to where it was coming from, and much to our surprise, standing in front of us was one of the members of the Board of Directors, Rokurou Sakakibara, as well as his secretary, Chiyoko Fukui.

"Mr. Sakakibara!" said Mitsuzuri-sensei, surprised.

"W-What're you doing here?" said Saegusa-sensei.

Mr. Sakakibara took his time looking at each and every one of us, before he cleared his throat and said to the teachers and staffs, "I came here to tell all of you here, that I take back what I had said to all of you before, about you being a disgrace to your academy and yourselves. I placed a misjudgment about the rest of you for what Kobayashi had done, and had placed a great burden that Kobayashi had made upon you, when in truth, you had nothing to do with his antics, and you didn't know that Kobayashi was doing such despicable things to clear his debt, as well as him being discreet about it. So, therefore, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I apologize to all of you for that." He then looked at us and said, "And to you students, as well, for the mistreatment and the insults that we made upon you. You are all good students, and I do hope that you continue to learn in this academy."

We took the time to take in what he said for a moment, before I smiled and said first, "Thank you, sir, we will. And…we're sorry, too, for being disrespectful to you and the board." My friends nodded to him in agreement.

Mitsuzuri-sensei then said, "As are we. We were fools for believing in Kobayashi, and we were fools to allow Kobayashi to do such things behind our backs and yours. We should've seen it sooner. Forgive us." The teachers and staffs nodded in agreement.

Mr. Sakakibara smiled and said, "I think what matters now is that we've all learned our mistake, and that we now learn to never allow such things to happen ever again, and do what we must do best."

We all smiled at that.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, the board and I must speak to the reporters today to answer their questions." said Mr. Sakakibara, "Oh, and, just so you know, you'll be having a brand new principal who will gladly be in charge of looking after Homurahara Academy as your principal, and I assure you, he's far better than our former principal, Kobayashi. I expect you forward to meet him, and I expect that you'll work well with him." Mr. Sakakibara then turned away to leave, with his secretary following him.

Mitsuzuri-sensei chuckled with grin and said, "Oh, we plan to."

"You know," said Kurosawa-san, "Seeing him now, he didn't seem so bad."

"Yeah!" Hiiragi cheered.

"Well, what matters now is we got our school back." said Yukitsuki-san, "And I'm so glad we'll be going back. I hope everything goes back to the way it was again."

"Yeah." I said, "I'm sure it will." I then looked around and noticed someone was missing, before I said, "Hey, uh…where's Matou-sensei? I don't see her anywhere around here."

"Sakura?" said Mitsuzuri-sensei, "Oh, she's inside the school. Apparently, President Shindou wanted to talk to her about something, so they went in to chat. I'm not sure what it's about, though."

"I see." I said, before I began thinking for a moment. Actually, it has been a while since I've seen my family, so maybe this is a good time to chat with them for a bit. Besides, I need to thank them for saving our school. I then said, excusing myself, "I'll go in and look for her. Is it alright if I go?"

"Oh, sure." said Mitsuzuri-sensei, "We don't mind, but…why?"

"No reason." I said, "Just gonna go say hi and all." I then turned to Saber and said, "Hey, Elaina, can you keep an eye on Minna for me while I'm gone?"

"Of course." said Saber.

"Okay, great." I said, "Thanks." I then looked at Minna and said, "I'll be right back, so wait for me with Elaina, okay?"

"Ja!" Minna nodded, happily, "I will!"

"Okay." I said, as I began leaving, "I'll be right back!"

* * *

I walked around the hallway to look for dad and Matou-sensei until I heard there were voices coming from the principal's office, so I went over there to where they could be talking until I made it to the door and took a peek inside. In the room, dad was sitting in the couch while Matou-sensei was sitting on the other as they were talking to each other.

"No, of course not." said Matou-sensei, "I assure you, your son is no trouble at all. He's a very good student, and I really favor him the most. I even treat your son as if he was my own."

"I see." said dad, "Well, I'm glad to hear that, Mrs. Matou."

"Yes, sir." said Matou-sensei, "I promise, you have nothing to worry about. I'll do whatever I can as his teacher and take good care of him."

I felt that it was time to go in, so I knocked on the door for them to hear.

"Oh?" said Matou-sensei, "Who is it? Please, come in."

I opened the door and let myself in.

"Ah, Shindou-kun!" said Matou-sensei, surprised, "I didn't know you were here!"

"Sorry to bother you." I said, "I just wanted to see what were up to." I then turned to my father and bowed to him as I said, "Hello, it's good to see you again, sir."

"Yes, good to see again, Yuzuru." said dad, "I see that you're doing well."

"Yes, sir, I have." I said, "And, I wanted to come and see you, and thank you in person, for saving our academy. So, thank you, sir."

"Of course." said dad, "You're welcome." He then turned to Matou-sensei and said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with my son for a moment."

"Yes, of course." said Matou-sensei, "I'll leave you to it."

"Thank you." said dad, before he turned to me and said, "Yuzuru, mind if I have a word with you?"

"No, sir, not at all." I said.

We then left the office and went out to the hallway to speak. Dad then cleared his throat and said, "So, Yuzuru, how have you been?"

"I've been doing fine, sir." I said.

"I see." said dad, "And, I take it that Minna is with you?"

"Yes, sir." I said, "She's living with me at an apartment complex that I'm living in. I've been keeping a good eye on her for a while now, sir."

"I see." said dad, "That's good to hear. Tell me, Yuzuru, are you aware of Minna's feelings for you?"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused for a bit, before I realized and said, "O-Oh! Uh…yes, sir, I am aware."

"I see." said dad, "Then, how do you feel about her in return?"

"Huh?" I said, "O-Oh, uh…um…w-well, I…uh…I-I…I don't know, exactly, sir. T-To be honest, I'm…I'm not really sure how I really feel about her right now."

"I see." said dad, "Well, I suppose that's to be expected. Then tell me, Yuzuru, are you aware of Minna's situation as of right now?"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Minna's…situation. Uh, no, sir, I'm not. Minna hasn't told me anything about her situation right now. Um…why? Did something happen?"

Dad sighed and said, "I…figured she wouldn't tell you." Dad then looked at me with a serious look on his face as he said, "Yuzuru, you should know that when she graduates here in Japan, Minna Eckstein Everhart will return to her country of Germany, and she's going to be married."

I gasped in shock from what my father had just told me. H-Huh?! W-Wait, what?! M-Minna…Minna's gonna get married?!

"W-Wait, married?!" I said, shocked, "W-What do you mean she's gonna get married?! A-And to who?!"

"To another powerful business family that resides in Germany." said dad, "The marriage is the olive branch for their business cooperative purposes. You see, Yuzuru, their family is planning to take over and combine Mr. Everhart's business with theirs since Mr. Everhart is planning to step down and have an early retirement. They intend to have Minna become a bride to the son of their family and make her one of theirs, and they intend to have Minna to bear an heir for them once she marries into their family."

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "A-And…and Mr. Everhart's okay with that?!"

Dad looked at me and said, "No, he's not okay with it. Though he intends to retire early and stepping down from his business, he does not wish to give his daughter away to them that easily. He wishes for Minna to have a future of her own, and to live her life freely so she can have a normal life rather than being with another powerful family. And, before he plans to step down from his business, he would like to hand his daughter to someone whom he believes that he can trust. And so, that's where you come in, Yuzuru."

"Huh?" I said, "Me?"

Dad nodded and said, "As you are aware, Minna has strong feelings for you and wants to be with you, because out of everyone, she trusts you the most since you two were little. And, because of that, Mr. Everhart believes that you are the right candidate to take her in your hands. However, the son of the family, who intends to marry Minna, wishes to take Minna for himself and wants you out of her and their family lives, because he believes that you are unworthy of her, and that you do not have what it takes to be with her for the rest of your life, that is…if you even understand how you feel about her now."

"I see." I said, "B-But, sir, I-I don't think that Minna should have to marry anyone in that family, and…well, even if Mr. Everhart steps down from his business, he doesn't have to give Minna away! She can just go and live out on her own! Besides, we have our own rights, and we should decide on our own, to make our own destiny!"

"For ourselves, yes." said dad, "But not for others. There are times when everything that has happened until now was allowed to happen by someone or something. Minna is no exception. Everything that she did, they allowed it to happen, because they gave her the time that she needed to bring her feelings out to you. And now, you need to make her time count, and see how you really feel about her. Because if you don't, Minna will be taken away, and she will be forced to marry into the family, and you'll never see her ever again."

I gasped at what my father had just said to me, before I said in complete shock, "W-What?! I-I'll…n-never see Minna again?!"

"That's right." said dad, "It's…saddening, I understand, but that's just how it is. I'm sorry that I had to tell you that, but as I said, you can change your own destiny, but you CAN'T change other's destiny. None of us can. We're not Gods."

"No…" I said, as I began to look down with shadow casting my eyes. I…I just couldn't believe it. Minna…getting married…and there's nothing I can do…to change that…?

"However," he said, making me look up back at him, "You CAN support others in helping them change their own destiny by deciding what YOU want to be a part of your destiny. In other words, you can change Minna's destiny by deciding what YOU want in your life."

"Sir…" I said, before I began thinking for a moment, about Minna, and how I really feel about her. I then looked back at dad and asked, "Sir, right now, I'm not entirely sure how I really feel about Minna right now, but…if it's possible, could I please have some more time to think about my feelings and what exactly do I really want? If I have more time, then I…I'll figure out how I really feel."

"Yuzuru…" said dad.

"Please, sir." I bowed to him, "Just give me some more time."

Everything became silent, as I kept my head bowed to him waiting for an answer from my father. Then, after a moment of silent, dad answered, "Three months."

I looked back up at dad and said, "Eh?"

Dad looked at me and said, "I will contact Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart, and have him to convince the family to give you three months to think and decide what you really feel and what you really want. You have three months, starting tomorrow, to make up your mind and decide how you feel and what you wish to do with Minna. If you decide to take her with you because you wish to be with her, then she can go free, and she'll break the marriage proposal and will have no reason to marry into their family. However, if you don't decide by the end of that three months, then you'll have to cut your ties with Minna, become distant from her, and let her go for her to be married into their family. Is that understood?"

"What?!" I said, shocked, "B-But, sir-"

"No 'buts'!" he said, sternly, "Is that clear?"

I looked at him in the eyes for a moment, and I could already see that he was being serious on this, so I relented and said, "Yes, sir."

I felt his hand placed on my shoulder, making me look at him, before he said, "Listen, Yuzuru, I don't like the idea either, because I know how close you two truly are together. However, as I said, you can't change other's destiny, only your own destiny." He then walked up next to me, ready to leave, before he said to me, "You'll have to make up your mind and decide on what you truly want soon. Otherwise, you'll regret it, and never get that chance again."

Without looking at him, I said, "Yes, sir. I will."

"Good." I heard him said, "Well, I'll have to go now. My flight back to Misaki Town will be here soon. Take care, son." Then, I heard him began walking away, until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, leaving me alone in the hallway to take everything in. Three months. Can I really decide…on how I really feel that long? For Minna's sake?

* * *

Sakura's POV:

I was peeking out at the door, and…I heard everything that was going on outside, and I heard everything that Shindou-kun's father had just said to him, about Minna. I just…couldn't help but feel bad for Shindou-kun, as he had to just hear what was going to happen to Minna if he doesn't decide soon, and as he was struggling on his true feelings.

"Shindou-kun…" I said, as I kept watching him for a bit, before he began leaving.

This is bad. I just…I just hope Shindou-kun understands his true feelings soon.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I walked around the hallway thinking to myself, as I began process what I had learn, and trying to think what I should do. Then suddenly, I felt like I bumped into someone, and I stepped back a bit to see them and apologize.

"O-Oh, crap!" I said, before I bowed and apologized, "Uh…sorry."

"You sure have a habit of thinking to yourself without even bothering what's right in front of you." I them said, and I immediately recognize the voice, making me look up to see that it was one of the board members, as well as my cousin.

"O-Oh, crap!" I said, shocked to see her, before I bowed again and said, "Uh…I-I'm sorry about that, uh…Ms. Akizawa! I-I wasn't-"

"Oh, drop the formality." she said, "We're not strangers, you know? Yuzuru."

"O-Oh, uh…o-okay." I said, "U-Uh...s-sorry, um…Erika."

"Don't apologize." said Erika, "You had nothing at fault here. I'm sure you had something on your mind that's bothering you."

"Uh…right." I said, "Oh, right! Uh…a-anyway, I wanna thank you, Erika!"

"For what?" she asked.

"For changing your mind about shutting down the academy." I answered, "If…if you hadn't, we wouldn't be where we are today. So, uh…thank you."

Erika sighed and said, "You don't need to thank me for that. What I did, I only did it as a member of the Board of Directors, just doing my job. Nothing I did was personal for you or your friends."

"Oh, right." I said, "Well, still, thanks, for whatever's worth."

"Hmph." said Erika, "So then, what seems to be going on with you today? Knowing you, you seem to be troubled about something."

"H-Huh?" I said, "Uh…well, I…uh…"

"It's about that girl, who's your first friend, isn't it?" Erika guessed, "Your father told you about it already?"

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised that Erika had already known about it, before I answered, "Um, uh…y-yeah. H-How'd you…know that?"

"Lucky guess." said Erika, as she turned and faced the window, looking outside, "It's been going on at our relatives' side, too. Apparently, it's such a big deal to hear that Mr. Everhart is stepping down from his business in Germany, that everyone in the family, mostly the few of our cousins who're selfish, were giving gossips about wanting to take his business for themselves, even that stupid father of mine. Honestly, how that even reached them from Germany to Japan is beyond me."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Well, I mean, Mr. Everhart DOES have a powerful company that he runs, or at least might no longer run. So, I guess it makes sense for it to be a big deal."

"Hmph." said Erika.

"So, are you interested in taking it?" I asked, "Mr. Everhart's business?"

"I have no interest in running a business, much less something that is that powerful." said Erika, "Just as I have no interest in running your family's art business that my stupid old man intended for me to do. Besides, I'm too busy with being a member of the Board of Directors to even run a business."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"But enough about that." said Erika, "What about you? You already know that once Mr. Everhart steps down, he'll have to hand his company to another rich family. But what about that girl? She'll have to be forced to marry into their family, as part of their deal. And if she does, she'll be gone for good. So, what're you going to do about it?"

"Uh…well, I…" I said, as I tried thinking, "I…I don't know…I mean, my dad said that I have a few months to think about it, before I decide what I really want and how I really feel, but…I'm…I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do…or what I really think of her…"

Erika sighed and said, "You are really slow, you know that?" She then looked at me with a serious look and said, sternly, "Stop hesitating! Stop acting like a coward, or a reserved little brat! You're NOT a little kid anymore!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, taken aback by that.

"You are NOT that little reserved brat who lets people say whatever insults they say about you!" said Erika, sternly, "You are NOT a little brat who just runs off and cries to his sisters all the time! You are your own man! And if you ARE a man, then you should stop acting like a baby and ACT like one!"

"E-Erika…" I said.

Erika sighed after calming down and said calmly, "I mean it, don't hesitate, and don't think too much all the time. You're not a little boy anymore. You're not some kid who's used to being looked down upon by people, including our relatives, because of your flaws and not do anything about it. You've already grown from that over the years, and you're much different than you are back then. You already have the right to decide, to make your own choices. And if you want to make whatever choice you think is right, then just take it. Do what's best for yourself, and not just for those you love."

"Erika…" I said, "I-I…"

"Don't misunderstand." said Erika, as she looked away from me, "I'm only telling you this because I still pity you, just as I pitied you back then, I'm not telling you this because I care."

"O-Oh…" I said.

But then, Erika turned back to me and made a small smile, before she said, "But…I am somewhat interested in where this is actually going for you, whether you intend to get your girlfriend or not. Who knows? I think this little 'childhood friends' relationship might turn into love. I'm interested in seeing it happen. For my amusement, that is."

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I took all in what she just said, and then screamed incredulously, "HUH?!"

Erika chuckled in amusement, before she said as she began walking away, "Well, I should get going now. I may not look like it, but I'm busy with work to do. Being in the Board of Directors and stuff. Anyway, good luck with your love life, because you're gonna need it."

I just stood where I was in complete and utter shock, as Erika began leaving until she was gone, leaving me alone in the hallway. I then sighed and said to myself, "Oh, god…not Erika too…" I sighed again and said, "Oh, well…"

I then looked out the window and thought to myself, "Still, she's right. I…I can't just keep to myself and not do anything like this. And I can't be like I was back then. I…I gotta decide soon, on what I really want."

* * *

Later:

It was already nighttime, and I was already at home with Minna, Saber, and Yukitsuki-san. Tomorrow, we'll be going back to school like normal again. We had already said goodnight to Yukitsuki-san and we went back to our apartment room to turn ourselves in for the night, and Saber already began to fall asleep. But, me? I just…I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't sleep, not after what I had just learned about Minna's situation. So, I decided to go outside for a bit and watch the moonlight, and let the cool breeze blow.

"Yuzu-kun?" I heard someone said, making me turn around and see that it was Minna, who was in her pajamas and had a blanket around her shoulders.

"Oh, Minna!" I said, "Hey."

"Yuzu-kun, what's wrong?" Minna asked, worriedly, "You can't sleep?"

I chuckled a bit and said, "Ah, yeah. Sorry, I just couldn't sleep. I was just…thinking about some stuff, that's all."

"Oh, I see." said Minna, as she came over to stand next to me, before she looked at the moon and said, "Wow. The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I said, as looked at the moon along with her, "It sure is…"

We stood where we were looked at the moon in complete silence, letting this moment to last for both of us, as we let the moonlight shine down upon us. I then felt Minna's hand holding onto mine as she places her head on my shoulder, with her eyes closed and with a smile on her face. As I looked at her, I couldn't help but just…smile at the smile she was making, because…I want her to be happy like this all the time. Thinking about that, it made me held her hand tighter so that I wouldn't let her go. I just…I just couldn't. I can't.

Then, I began say, "Hey, Minna, listen, I-"

"You already know, don't you?" said Minna, making me gasped and looked at her, as she looked at me with tears in her eyes that looked like they could come out anytime soon, before she said, "That I'm going to be married to another German family in Germany, don't you, Yuzu-kun? Once I graduate?"

I remained silent as I was a bit shocked that she already knew that I found out already, before I swallowed and said, "Um, yeah…I do. M-My dad told me just when I went to see him today. And…well, he said that I have three months to think until I decide whether I should have you or not." I then turned around to face her and asked, "But, Minna, are you…are you really okay with this? You, marrying someone else from another family that you don't even know? And just…letting them having you, after your father steps down from business? Are you really fine with that?"

Minna looked at me for a moment, before her smile faltered, as she closed her eyes and slowly began crying, as she said tearfully, "Nein…nein, I'm not…I'm not okay…"

"Minna…" I said, sad to see her this way. Because I knew that…behind that smile of hers, deep down, she had sadness.

"I-I'm sorry…Yuzu-kun..." said Minna, tearfully, "But...I'm not okay with it…because, I'm scared…" Minna looked at me as her tears fall from her eyes as she said to me in tears, "I'm scared of being with someone else…I…I only want to be with you…Yuzu-kun…"

"Minna…" I said.

"I…I really…didn't want to…" said Minna, tearfully, "But…but, I didn't have a choice…if…if my father steps down, then…they'll take me away…from my home…and away from you…and I won't be able to see you again…but, I…I don't want to marry the man of their family…because, I don't wanna forget you…I want…to be together with you, just like when we were kids…that's why…"

"You had to come find me…" I said, "And to tell me how you felt about me…that you love me…"

"Ja…" said Minna, tearfully, "And I…I wish…I wish that it was you, who would marry me and not that man…that you would love me forever…"

"Minna…" I said.

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, tearfully, "I…I don't…I don't wanna separate with you…I don't wanna forget you…I…I…if I marry someone other than you…I'll…I'll…"

Seeing her like this in tears, crying, wanting to be with me, wanting to love me and only me alone, not wanting to be with anyone else and be lost from me, I just…I couldn't help but went and grab onto her in an embrace, as I held onto her tightly, as a sign of comfort that I'm here for her, and not letting her go.

"Y-Yuzu…kun…?" said Minna.

"Minna," I said, "Right now, I'm not really sure how I really feel about you. Not yet, at least. But, I'm not gonna leave you, and I'm not gonna lose you. Because, I promised that I'll stay with you and protect you, no matter what. What matters now, is that I'll remain at your side, keeping you safe, and be here for you, as a hero who'll protect you. And, until I see and understand how I really feel about you, please wait for me for as long as it takes, okay? Please wait for me, until I see and understand how I truly feel for you."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, as I let go of her a bit, so she could look at me, "Do you…do you promise? You'll stay with me, until you say that you love me?"

"Minna," I smiled at her, before I kissed her forehead and said, "Have I ever once lied to you, or have I ever once broken a promise to you?"

Minna looked at me with a surprised look for a bit, before she shook her head and smiled as she said, "Nein, of course not! I know you would never lie to me, and I know you would never hurt me! Because, I trust you! And I love you! That's why…that's why, I'll wait for you!"

I sighed in relief, before I hugged her again and said, "Then, you don't have to worry, and just leave it to me. I promise, you're in good hands. I'll be a hero who'll protect you. So, please wait for me, until I have my answers for you."

I could feel Minna was smiling and I could feel that Minna was crying, not of sadness, but of joy, knowing that I'll keep her safe as she waits for me, before she closed her eyes as she smiled and whispered, "Ja. I'll wait for you. Because, I love you, Yuzu-kun."

"Thank you, Minna." I said, as I rubbed the back of her head, keeping my embrace to her for a long while.

"Yuzu-kun?" said Minna, making me let go of her, as she looked at me and asked, "Um…Yuzu-kun, I know that we're not lovers yet, but…can you please kiss me?"

"H-Huh?" I said, surprised for a bit, before I asked, "Um…Minna, are you sure?"

Minna nodded and said, "It's okay, Yuzu-kun. So, please, kiss me."

She then closed her eyes and then slightly opened her lips, as if she was welcoming me, as she waited for me to kiss her. I looked at her for a moment, taking in a good look at what I was seeing right in front of me; a girl who I've known all my life since childhood, is welcoming me to kiss her.

I swallowed a bit before I said, "Okay." I then placed my right hand on her left cheek as to hold her face, before I slowly began to move my face closer and closer to hers, until finally, I locked my lips with hers, and we stayed where we were, letting this moment of bliss to go on as we remained in our kiss. This kiss we were doing…it felt…really nice, soft, and warm. Then, after the long moment of bliss from kissing, we let ourselves go and looked at each other, with smiles on our faces.

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "The kiss we made…it felt wonderful."

"Yeah." I said, "It was nice."

Minna then hugged me this time and said, "I love you, Yuzu-kun."

I smiled at her before I hugged her back, letting ourselves hold onto each other in our embrace again. Then, after a long enough time of hugging, I let go of her and said, "We should get back to bed and get some sleep. We'll be going back to school tomorrow."

"Ja, we should." Minna smiled, as she held my hand, "Let's go, Yuzu-kun."

"Yeah." I said, as I held her hand back, before we walked back inside, hand-in-hand, to get ready to get some sleep, closing the door behind us, ready for what tomorrow awaits us.

* * *

Unknown's POV:

I stood in front of a cross of the Holy Church, looking at it and admiring it for a while. I then turned around to face my Servant that was standing before me with her head down, with shadow casting her eyes.

The Servant in front of me had blue short hair, and stood about 5'5" tall. She was wearing clothes that represent a member of the Church, which is consisted of a black rob with a long skirt that reaches her ankle and long sleeves, with the ones around her wrist were white and had a red cross representing the Church, a white scarf collar, black boots, and a necklace with a cross on it. Yes, this is my Servant, Archer.

"Archer," I announced, "The time has come. It is time for us to make our move in the Holy Grail War, for me to gain power over all living things. And now, I have a task for you, Elesia."

My Servant, Archer, looked up at me to reveal her matching blue eyes, as she said to me, "Yes. As you command, my Master."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	12. Chapter 6

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Pant…pant…pant…pant…pant…

I was panting…and panting…and panting…and panting…getting tired…

It's…getting difficult for me to…keep breathing…to keep moving…this fight…it's…getting difficult…for us…to handle…we're…we're all…losing…this fight…from…from…

…from Makidera-sensei beating us up.

TWHACK!

"OW!" I screamed, as I was hit in the forehead by the thrust of the pole staff from Makidera-sensei, before I fell onto my back and landed on my butt.

Our class were in the middle of our P.E. class with Hiiragi's class today, and all the guys in both classes, including me, were all going through what Makidera-sensei calls "Physical Training". Basically, what we guys had to do in it was…well, fight against Makidera-sensei. And, well…let's just say it wasn't going very well for all of us, as we all kept on getting beat up by her before any of us could even do anything to lay a hit on her, not that any of us could, because, uh…well, she's a woman, and also pretty violent. Anyway, while we were doing that, all of the girls, including Saber and Minna, who now have P.E. clothes, were all on the track field running laps, as they were being coached by Himuro-sensei and Saegusa-sensei.

Makidera-sensei swung her pole staff around while making nonsensical Kungfu noises, before she placed her staff next to her while still holding it and then shouted, "Dickheads, ten hut!"

Upon hearing that, we all quickly went in rows of straight lines, stood straight, and had our hands behind our backs, and looked straight directly at Makidera-sensei as if she was the drill sergeant of the military. God, it feels like we were in a military training.

"What the hell just happened here, you dickheads?!" Makidera-sensei yelled.

"Ma'am, we were preparing for battle to fight against you, ma'am!" I shouted.

"What?!" Makidera-sensei yelled, "Preparing?!"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh…is that a…pro-OOOOOWWW!"

Makidera-sensei whacked me in the head with her pole staff, before she shouted while pointing at me, "YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT, YOU DICKHEAD!"

"Huh?!" I said, even more confused.

"You prepare to go out on DATES!" Makidera-sensei shouted, as she hit me in the head with her staff-OW! "You prepare DINNER!" In the stomach-OHH! "You prepare to GO. ON. VA-CA-TION!" In the head again, about five times-OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! "You do NOT PREPARE-!" She slapped me in the face with her staff-OOOOOWWW! "-To go to BATTLE!" She slapped me in the face again-OOOOOWWW! "YOU…!" She hit me the stomach again-OHHH! "Are ALREADY prepared!" She hit me up at my chin twice-OW! OHH! "You do not wait for the enemy to come to YOU!" She hit me in the stomach again-OOOHH! "You GO to your ENEMIES!" She hit me right up at my chin again twice-OW! OWHOH!- which made me tripped and fall on my back-OOOOOWWW!

"Do you fucking dickheads understand me?!" Makidera-sensei shouted at us.

All of the guys sighed and said monotonically, "Yes, ma'am…"

I groaned in pain as I slowly got myself back up, before I said, "Yes, ma'am…"

Makidera-sensei grumbled at our response, before she shouted at us, "Seriously?! What the FUCK was that, people?! That was the weakest sound that I've EVER heard from ALL of you! Seriously, people, has one week of no school made all you dickheads fucking lazy or somethin'?!"

I sighed before I answered, "No, ma'am. It hasn't made us lazy. Well, it's just…"

"We're getting sick of you calling us dickheads, all the time!" one of the guys said out loud.

"Uh…yeah, there we go." I said, "That. We're getting sick of that."

"HUH?!" Makidera-sensei shouted, as she looked at each and every one of our faces, "Seriously?! You fucking dickheads are GETTING SICK from being called DICKHEADS?! You dickheads are a bunch of babies thinking I'm gonna stop calling you dickheads "Dickheads"! I ain't gonna stop calling you guys dickheads! And you wanna know why?!"

"Um…uh…i-is it because it's your class and it's your rules?" I guessed, before I was suddenly hit in the head, "OOOWW!"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOUR BRAINS ARE FULL OF NOTHING BUT DICKS!" Makidera-sensei shouted while pointing at me, before she turned to every other guys here and shouted, "IN FACT, THE REASON I CALL ALL YOU FUCKERS DICKHEADS IS BECAUSE ALL YOU DICKHEADS THINK ABOUT IS NOTHING BUT WOMEN, EROTIC FANTASIES, BOOBIES, AND WANTING SEX! YOU GUYS ARE NOTHING BUT FULL OF DICKS AND WANTING WOMEN FOR YOURSELVES! HELL, YOU EVEN HAVE LEWD FANTASIES OF WOMEN, THAT INVOLVES ALL DISGUSTING THINGS YOU DICKHEADS EVER WANNA DO!"

"W-W-Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said, "Hold on a second, Makidera-sensei! We do NOT think about lewd things about girls!"

"Actually, we do." Kurosawa-san interrupted a bit.

"Urgh…uh, okay, yeah, maybe we do." I corrected, before I said, "But, I mean, not ALL the time. I mean, we only kinda do that because we're guys, and guys…well, we sorta have needs and-OOOOOWWW!"

I was suddenly hit in the head again by Makidera-sensei, who pointed at me again and shouted, "AND THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT, YOU DICKHEAD!"

"H-Huh?!" I said, incredulously.

"IF YOU WANNA BE CALLED GENTLEMEN, WHICH I HIGHLY DOUBT ANY OF YOU WILL, THEN YOU BETTER START ACTING LIKE GENTLEMEN!" Makidera-sensei shouted, "GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS, STOP THINKING ABOUT DICKS AND WOMEN, AND GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY NEEDS! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHETHER IT'LL GIVE YOU FUCKERS PENT UP FRUSTRATIONS OR SHIT! YOU GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS AND DIRTY NEEDS, AND YOU BETTER DO IT! IF YOU WANNA BE CALLED GENTLEMEN! BUT UNTIL THEN, AND UNTIL YOU ALL LEARN HOW TO GET RID OF YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN, AND YOUR DIRTY NEEDS FOR SEX, YOU ARE ALL GONNA BE CALLED DICKHEADS! NOW, SAY IT! SAY "YOU ARE ALL CALLED DIRTY DICKHEADS, UNTIL YOU ALL ACT LIKE REAL GENTLEMEN!" SAY IT!"

"Uh…w-wait, now?" I asked, "Y-You mean like, out loud now, and right here, and in front of all the girls? B-Because, I-I-I don't…r-really think that we sh-OOOOOWWW!"

Makidera-sensei hit me in the head again before she shouted while pointing at me again, "I SAID IT, SO YOU ALL DO IT! NOW, SAY IT!"

I rubbed my head from that hit she gave me for a moment, before I sighed and said in defeat, "Yes, ma'am…"

All of the guys sighed along with me and said monotonically, "Yes, ma'am…"

"Seriously…" I groaned, "Do we have to?"

"No choice." said Kurosawa-san, "We kinda deserve it, anyway."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess."

All of the guys, including me, began to say what Makidera-sensei told us to say reluctantly and with deadpanned expressions on our faces, "We are all called dirty dickheads, until we all act like real gentlemen…"

"SAY IT LIKE YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT!" Makidera-sensei shouted at us.

"MA'AM, WE ARE ALL DIRTY DICKHEADS, UNTIL WE ALL ACT LIKE REAL GENTLEMEN, MA'AM!" we all shouted out loud, repeating the same words out loud, which I'm afraid was…probably loud enough for the whole school to hear. Oh, hell, we could even hear some of the girls were laughing at us.

"Oh, man…" I thought to myself, despairing, "I'm so gonna regret this…"

"GOOD!" Makidera-sensei shouted, with a smile on her face; of course, she was happy and amused by this; before she said, "Now, let's get back to training, people! C'mon and get me! Hit me with all you got, you dickheads!"

"Oh, geez…" I thought to myself again, despairing, "And now, I'm gonna regret doing this…"

All the guys sighed and said monotonically, and with unamused looks on their faces, "Yes, ma'am…"

Then, all of the guys, including me, got into different spots surrounding Makidera-sensei, who was in her fighting stance with her pole staff armed and ready. Okay, seriously, that is just unfair. All the guys then got into their fighting stances, ready to attack Makidera-sensei, which sadly, I highly doubt any of us would be able to do, because…well, she fights good…violent, but good…and hits really, really hard. Literally.

I sighed to myself, knowing that I'll be going through crap like this again, before I got myself into a fighting stance. But, before I could go on to attack, I stopped myself and saw Minna, who was still practicing with the other girls, including Saber, running laps on the track field. She was…smiling, like she was having fun with what they were doing. Look at her smile, I…I just couldn't help but just…want to look at her smile and just want her to keep that smile all the time. And…it just makes me smile. Looking at her right now, it just…made me remembered what my dad had told me yesterday.

* * *

Yesterday:

"Three months." He told me.

I looked back up at dad and said, "Eh?"

Dad looked at me and said, "I will contact Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart, and have him to convince the family to give you three months to think and decide what you really feel and what you really want. You have three months, starting tomorrow, to make up your mind and decide how you feel and what you wish to do with Minna. If you decide to take her with you because you wish to be with her, then she can go free, and she'll break the marriage proposal and will have no reason to marry into their family. However, if you don't decide by the end of that three months, then you'll have to cut your ties with Minna, become distant from her, and let her go for her to be married into their family. Is that understood?"

"What?!" I said, shocked, "B-But, sir-"

"No 'buts'!" he said, sternly, "Is that clear?"

I looked at him in the eyes for a moment, and I could already see that he was being serious on this, so I relented and said, "Yes, sir."

I felt his hand placed on my shoulder, making me look at him, before he said, "Listen, Yuzuru, I don't like the idea either, because I know how close you two truly are together. However, as I said, you can't change other's destiny, only your own destiny." He then walked up next to me, ready to leave, before he said to me, "You'll have to make up your mind and decide on what you truly want soon. Otherwise, you'll regret it, and never get that chance again."

Without looking at him, I said, "Yes, sir. I will."

"Good." I heard him said, "Well, I'll have to go now. My flight back to Misaki Town will be here soon. Take care, son." Then, I heard him began walking away, until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, leaving me alone in the hallway to take everything in.

* * *

Now:

"Three month, huh?" I said to myself, ignoring what was going on around me.

Man, three month's already started, and I still can't think or decide what I really want, and I'm still not sure how I even really feel about Minna. Do I…do I really love her, or do I not at all? Or, should I let her go or not? What do I…what do I even really feel about her?

Thinking about it made me think back on what happened last night, with what happened with me and Minna…

* * *

Last night:

I turned around to face her and asked, "But, Minna, are you…are you really okay with this? You, marrying someone else from another family that you don't even know? And just…letting them having you, after your father steps down from business? Are you really fine with that?"

Minna looked at me for a moment, before her smile faltered, as she closed her eyes and slowly began crying, as she said tearfully, "Nein…nein, I'm not…I'm not okay…"

"Minna…" I said, sad to see her this way. Because I knew that…behind that smile of hers, deep down, she had sadness.

"I-I'm sorry…Yuzu-kun..." said Minna, tearfully, "But...I'm not okay with it…because, I'm scared…" Minna looked at me as her tears fall from her eyes as she said to me in tears, "I'm scared of being with someone else…I…I only want to be with you…Yuzu-kun…"

"Minna…" I said.

"I…I really…didn't want to…" said Minna, tearfully, "But…but, I didn't have a choice…if…if my father steps down, then…they'll take me away…from my home…and away from you…and I won't be able to see you again…but, I…I don't want to marry the man of their family…because, I don't wanna forget you…I want…to be together with you, just like when we were kids…that's why…"

"You had to come find me…" I said, "And to tell me how you felt about me…that you love me…"

"Ja…" said Minna, tearfully, "And I…I wish…I wish that it was you, who would marry me and not that man…that you would love me forever…"

"Minna…" I said.

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, tearfully, "I…I don't…I don't wanna separate with you…I don't wanna forget you…I…I…if I marry someone other than you…I'll…I'll…"

Seeing her like this in tears, crying, wanting to be with me, wanting to love me and only me alone, not wanting to be with anyone else and be lost from me, I just…I couldn't help but went and grab onto her in an embrace, as I held onto her tightly, as a sign of comfort that I'm here for her, and not letting her go.

"Y-Yuzu…kun…?" said Minna.

"Minna," I said, "Right now, I'm not really sure how I really feel about you. Not yet, at least. But, I'm not gonna leave you, and I'm not gonna lose you. Because, I promised that I'll stay with you and protect you, no matter what. What matters now, is that I'll remain at your side, keeping you safe, and be here for you, as a hero who'll protect you. And, until I see and understand how I really feel about you, please wait for me for as long as it takes, okay? Please wait for me, until I see and understand how I truly feel for you."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, as I let go of her a bit, so she could look at me, "Do you…do you promise? You'll stay with me, until you say that you love me?"

"Minna," I smiled at her, before I kissed her forehead and said, "Have I ever once lied to you, or have I ever once broken a promise to you?"

Minna looked at me with a surprised look for a bit, before she shook her head and smiled as she said, "Nein, of course not! I know you would never lie to me, and I know you would never hurt me! Because, I trust you! And I love you! That's why…that's why, I'll wait for you!"

I sighed in relief, before I hugged her again and said, "Then, you don't have to worry, and just leave it to me. I promise, you're in good hands. I'll be a hero who'll protect you. So, please wait for me, until I have my answers for you."

I could feel Minna was smiling and I could feel that Minna was crying, not of sadness, but of joy, knowing that I'll keep her safe as she waits for me, before she closed her eyes as she smiled and whispered, "Ja. I'll wait for you. Because, I love you, Yuzu-kun."

"Thank you, Minna." I said, as I rubbed the back of her head, keeping my embrace to her for a long while.

"Yuzu-kun?" said Minna, making me let go of her, as she looked at me and asked, "Um…Yuzu-kun, I know that we're not lovers yet, but…can you please kiss me?"

"H-Huh?" I said, surprised for a bit, before I asked, "Um…Minna, are you sure?"

Minna nodded and said, "It's okay, Yuzu-kun. So, please, kiss me."

She then closed her eyes and then slightly opened her lips, as if she was welcoming me, as she waited for me to kiss her. I looked at her for a moment, taking in a good look at what I was seeing right in front of me; a girl who I've known all my life since childhood, is welcoming me to kiss her.

I swallowed a bit before I said, "Okay." I then placed my right hand on her left cheek as to hold her face, before I slowly began to move my face closer and closer to hers, until finally, I locked my lips with hers, and we stayed where we were, letting this moment of bliss to go on as we remained in our kiss. This kiss we were doing…it felt…really nice, soft, and warm. Then, after the long moment of bliss from kissing, we let ourselves go and looked at each other, with smiles on our faces.

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "The kiss we made…it felt wonderful."

"Yeah." I said, "It was nice."

Minna then hugged me this time and said, "I love you, Yuzu-kun."

I smiled at her before I hugged her back, letting ourselves hold onto each other in our embrace again.

* * *

Now:

Thinking about the moment that we had last night, I just…I just couldn't help but blush at the thought of that time. To think that…I kissed Minna that night. I mean, I know we already kissed the first time, but still. If anyone had seen us that night, I would've been embarrassed.

Still, though, I wonder…what do I even feel about her? Do I…what do I really feel? Do I…do I really…lo-"

"DUDE, LOOK OUT!" someone shouted at me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"H-Huh?" I said, startled and confused, "Wait, wha-?"

TWHACK!

U-U-U-U-U-UUUUUuuuuuggghh!

I felt a sudden pain in my lower region, and I wheezed out air and groaned in pain, before I covered my lower region as I began to fall and collapse onto the ground. And I damn knew why! Makidera-sensei hit me in the dick…with her freakin' pole staff!

"OOOOOooooohhh!" I groaned in pain, "She…she…she…she hit me in the dick…! Why…? Why did she hit in the dick…? OOOOOooooohhh!"

* * *

Saber's POV:

I was running around the track field with Minna and the girls in our class, when suddenly-

"EEEEEuuuuuggghhh!" I said, as I felt a sudden chill coming down my spine, and…unfortunately, I knew exactly where it was coming from, as I groaned, "OOOooohhh!"

Minna looked at me with a concerned look on her face and asked, "What's wrong, Elaina?"

"Eh, no…" I said, shaking that feeling out, before I turned to where Yuzuru was and said, "…it's nothing. Nothing at all."

Minna just looked at me with a confused look on her face, before she shrugged it off and kept on running, while I watched my unfortunate Master lying there, moaning and groaning in pain as the guys came to Yuzuru and tried to help him.

I sighed and whispered, "…Goddammit, Master."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was laying on the bed at the nurse's office as I was resting from what had happened during P.E., thanks to Makidera-sensei, as I was still feeling the pain from my lower region, while also covered comically in band-aids everywhere. I was carried over to the nurse's office, thanks to the guys who helped me out, before they had brought me to the bed.

"Oooooooooowwwww…" I groaned in pain.

"I told you, Maki-no-ji." said Himuro-sensei, "You went too far with the kids. You should've gone and made them do a thousand push-up and sit-up to make it harder for them!"

"W-Well…" said Makidera-sensei, while rubbing the back of her head.

"Ah, no, Kane-chan, that's not the issue here." said Saegusa-sensei, before she turned to me and smiled as she said, "Well, in any case, you should rest up for now, okay, Shindou-kun? I'll inform to Mitsuzuri-sensei that you'll be missing her class for today."

"Oh, okay…" I managed to say, "Thank you…"

Saegusa-sensei nodded with a smile, before she told the two to leave me, and the three coaches left to let me rest.

I sighed to myself and thought, "Man, just my day…"

Before I knew it, I began to close my eyes and began falling to sleep.

* * *

As I was sleeping, I…found myself in a strange place. It was…a normal and plain land that was filled with tall grasses and the sun was setting, making the sky completely red. I then looked at myself and…I was in shock as I found that I was…completely transparent, like a ghost.

"Whoa…!" I thought, "What's…happening to me?" I then looked around and thought, "And…where am I?"

I looked around my surroundings for a moment, trying to figure out where I am and what's going on, before suddenly, I heard someone called, "Artoria!"

Alerted by that, I turned around to where the call was coming from, and I saw that there was a small barn, with a young man who had been caring for horse after a while calling out to the person named Artoria.

"Artoria, c'mon, where are you?!" the young man called out, "It's time to train!"

"Huh." I thought, "I wonder who that is? And…who's Artoria?"

Then, I noticed someone who went and ran passed by me, or rather through me, to go to the person who was calling her. And, when I saw who it was, I…I was in complete shock. This person, who I just saw went passed by me, was actually my Servant, Saber!

"Wait, no way!" I thought, shocked, "Saber?! Saber is Artoria?!"

Saber, or rather, Artoria, who appears younger than how I saw her, came over to the man before she stopped to catch her breath after running so hard, before she quickly bowed to him and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Brother Kay! I got back here as soon as I could! I hope I'm not so late!"

The man, now called Kay, who's Saber's-no, Artoria's brother, laughed at her and said, "Don't worry so much. You came at a right time. Anyway, grab your wooden sword and meet me at the back of the barn. We'll be sparring on sword skills."

"Yes, Brother Kay!" Artoria nodded happily to her brother, before she went to go get a wooden sword.

"Artoria…" I thought, "Is that…Saber's real name? It must be her first name, but…what's her last name?"

I watched as Saber-no, Artoria trained with her brother Kay with wooden swords, practicing on their sword skills as they sparred with one another. And, honestly, I was actually amazed at how skilled the both of them were with their swords. So, that's how Saber learned to use her sword well. The two of them kept on clashing with each other until finally, Kay knocked Artoria's sword out of her hand, meaning that Artoria had lost in their spar.

Kay laughed and said, "Ha! It looks like I won again!"

Artoria grumbled at that, unamused that her brother had beaten her the first round, before she went to pick up her sword and declared, "I will not give up! I won't stop training until I become a knight, stronger than you!" She then got back in her stance and said, "Again, Brother Kay!"

Kay sighed at his younger sister and said, "Alright then, your call!" He then went back to his stance, ready to begin sparring Artoria again, before he added, "Oh, and uh…Artoria! You won't actually be just a knight! You're going to become more than that!"

"Huh?" said Artoria, confused, "W-What do you mean, Brother Kay?"

Kay chuckled and said, "Don't you worry, you'll find out and understand, someday! Now then, let's go, Artoria!"

Saber-no, Artoria looked at her brother in confusion for a moment, before she smiled and said, "Okay, here I come, brother!"

Then, the two of them went at it again, sparring against each other with their wooden swords clashing together. I stood where I was and watched them in what they were doing and what was going on. Saber…this must've been during her childhood…then, does that mean…?

"…ru?" I suddenly heard, "Yu…ru? …zuru? Yuzu…? Yu…ru, …ke up."

* * *

"Yuzuru!" I heard someone called me, making me open my eyes awake.

I then got up from the bed and looked around, seeing that I was still in the infirmary of the school, until finally, my eyes went and found Saber, who was standing next to the bed, watching me with a small smile on her face.

"Are you awake, Master?" Saber asked, "Did you managed to sleep well?"

I…didn't say anything to her as I just kept silent as I looked at her for a moment, as I remembered what I had just dreamed about. Before suddenly, out of nowhere, I said, "…Artoria…"

Saber gasped at that with her eyes widened, surprised by what I just said, before she said, "M-Master, w-what did you just say?!"

Realizing what I had said out loud, I looked away from her and said without looking at her, "O-Oh! Uh, s-s-sorry! I-It wasn't intentional or anything! I-It's just that…well, that name just popped out of my head. Um…A-Artoria. Just…first name, Artoria."

"O-Oh." said Saber, as she now understood what I meant, "I-I see…"

"Yeah…" I said, before I looked back at her and asked, "So, um…A-Artoria. Is…is that your real name, Saber?"

"A part of it, my first name, yes." said Saber, before she asked, "Where did you learn that name, Yuzuru?"

"Well," I began, "I…learned it from my dream. Well, I don't know if I call it a dream exactly, probably…a flashback? Anyway, in my dreams, you were there, only about younger than you are now, and you were at a barn in a middle of nowhere, where you live with your brother named Kay. You were…training with him to become a knight, and you two were sparring together. Again, I'm…not entirely sure if it was a dream. Just…what was that?"

"I see." said Saber, "Then, Yuzuru, what you had just witnessed in your dream were the memories of my past."

"Huh?" I said, surprised at what I was hearing, "Wait, memories…of your past?"

"Yes." said Saber, "Whenever a Master or Servant go into their sleep, they can sometimes share dreams about each other's memories, giving both the Master and Servant better understandings of each other about who they are and what there is to know about each other, as well as make their bonds as Master and Servant grow stronger. For example, what you just dreamt about just now, since you and I are connected through a pact, we can share each other's dreams, not just our thoughts and feelings."

"Oh, I see." I said, as I was now understanding it, "So that explains why I saw you in my dreams, and why your real name kinda popped out of my head."

"Indeed." said Saber, "So, whatever it is that I'm dreaming about, it will be shared with you, and whatever it is that you're dreaming about, it will be shared with me. Of course, as you just mentioned, you can even discover what my true name as a Heroic Spirit is, allowing you to fully understand my true strengths and weaknesses. So, keep in mind, Master, that whenever you dream about my memories of my past, you'll have a better understanding of me and who I am, and whenever I dream about your memories of your past, I will have a better understanding of you and who you are."

"Right, got it." I said, before changed the subject by asking, "Speaking of memories, you and this Kay person must've been pretty close for siblings, huh? When I saw your memories, I could already see how you always look up to him and always train with him to be a knight, and…well, even though you kept losing to him in a sword fight, you still kept on going with him, and that's showed how close you two were, right?"

Saber looked at me for a moment, as she took in what I had just asked her, before she smiled, as if knowing what I had meant, as she then said, "Yes, I won't deny that. Though we were not related by blood, I still considered Kay as my older brother, as family. And…even if I kept losing to him most of the time in a spar, which admittedly annoys me, I still kept seeing him as a brother. And I always trained with him to keep improving myself to become a better knight, just as I am now."

"I see." I said, before a thought of what Kay said about Saber came to me, and I asked, "Hey, Saber, can I ask you something? Your brother, Kay, he…in the dreams, in your memories, he mentioned something about you, something about you going to become more than just a knight…you remember him telling you that, right? Can I ask, what did he mean by that?"

Saber remain silent for a moment after what I had asked her, before she looked away from me a bit with a sigh, as she said, "That…is something you'll have to find out for yourself, within those dreams. I'm sorry, but I…can't exactly tell you about it. Well, not yet, at least. Not until you're ready for the answer."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh, okay…but, why?"

Saber looked back at me with a small smile as she said, "You'll find out and understand someday; perhaps, even soon enough."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said, "Then, I'll leave it at that, and just rely on the dreams for now."

"Good." Saber nodded, before she frowned and said, "Well, enough about me, what about you? How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" I said, "Me? If…you mean physically, I'm perfectly fine, for the most part. Hell, I feel like I've recovered from what Makidera-sensei gave me."

"That is not what I meant," said Saber, with a deadpanned expression, "And I already know EXACTLY what happened to you, because I already felt what you felt."

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I realized and said, "O-Oh! Uh…um…oops." Dammit, it's easy to forget we're in a pact together. I then smiled nervously at her and said apologetically, "Uh…hehehehehe…uh, sorry."

Saber sighed and said, "It's fine, Master. It's only natural for you to feel pain from that. But again, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if you're okay "mentally"." She made a concerned expression and said, "Lately, you've been thinking to yourself so much, and I could feel you were having lots of thoughts to yourself as if there was something that was bothering you. I could even feel sense of concern and uneasiness in you. What seems to be wrong, Yuzuru?"

I looked at her a surprised look for a moment, surprised that she actually saw through me that there was something going on my mind, before I sighed, as I thought that I might as well tell her now and get it off my chest. I can't always keep secrets for long, especially towards Saber since she's my Servant.

I looked bat her and said, "I…haven't really told you, or anyone, about myself and about my past. It's…something that I wanted to be kept a secret from everyone. So, can you promise not to tell anybody about this?"

"Of course." said Saber, "As your sworn sword, I swear not to say a word to anyone about it. I'm your Servant, and whatever secrets you may have, I shall keep it for you."

I smiled at her and said, "Thank you." I then took a deep breath, readying myself for what I'm about to say, before I asked, "Do you…remember the people who saved our academy yesterday was called?"

Saber nodded and answered, "The Shining Artist of Shindou Corporation, if I'm not mistaken, and it's company is run by a president and CEO named Shinobu Shindou."

"Yep." I nodded, before I said, "Well, to tell you the truth, and I'm sure you might've guessed, but…I actually come from that art corporation, and well, Shinobu…he's my father."

"Your father?" Saber asked, and I nodded.

I then began saying, "I never told anyone about it, but…I come from that family corporation, and I come from a wealthy family of the most talented artists, which consisted of my dad and my two older sisters, Akira, being the oldest, and Megumi, the second oldest, with me being the youngest. My mom is part of the family too, but is more like an assistant to dad. Anyway, my dad and my sisters, they were talented artists, and they've done so much art due to them having unique and natural talents for being true artists. In fact, the picture art that this school has now, as a representation of how our school was saved by the Shindou Corporation, it was made by my two sisters who are both heirs to the family company. But…me? I wasn't. I wasn't gifted or artistically talented like my sisters or my father are. I was just…normal, like everyone else is. I guess you could say that I was the runt of the family. And, for a long time, for as long as I could remember, I had always lived in my family's shadows, and I was always looked down upon by everyone, even my relatives, because of my lack of talent in art and I wasn't gifted like my sisters were, and because of that, I never made any real friends in Misaki Town, like I have now here in Fuyuki City. And, because I never made any friends because I was looked down upon by everyone, I just…I always go to my sisters for comfort."

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

"Don't get me wrong, though," I said, "It's not like they don't love me as a family or anything, it's just that due to my lack of talent, they don't really expect anything much from me, not even my dad. Honestly, I was okay with it, because I didn't really expect much from myself either, nor did I ever showed any resentment or jealousy towards my sisters for being better talented people at art than I am. And, even though I was part of a rich family, I honestly didn't want anything that money could buy me, because I wasn't selfish or anything. But still, despite the good life I have with my family, sometimes I wish my life outside the family was just as good, but…" I sighed to myself before I continued, "Well, anyway, even though I didn't have talent and I didn't expect much from myself for my family, there was one thing that I did want, and it wasn't something that money could buy, but something to do in my life. I wanted…or rather, I needed an objective, a purpose in my life, a reason for my existence here in this world, even if the world didn't accept me, and even if it was just one thing. Back then, I wasn't sure what it was that I wanted to do, but I knew there was something out there that I wanted or needed to do in my life. I just had to search for it. And then…well…I think you can guess how I found it."

Saber nodded and answered with a smile, "Yes. You found it by meeting with Minna. She gave you a reason to live, a purpose in life. And that is to become a hero who will protect her, no matter the cost. Correct?"

"Yeah." I said, "Minna was…very important to me, as she still is now, because she was the first friend that I ever made, and the only friend that ever had in my life. To me, she was a special friend who helped me find a place for myself. And, we shared a lot of memories together when we were in Germany. Hell, you might think it's silly, but…we even shared an imaginary friend named Lily."

"Lily?" Saber asked, "An imaginary friend?"

"Yeah." I said, "She was…well, just an imaginary friend, so obviously, nobody else but us could see her, but to us, to me and Minna, she was really a real friend. When we were kids, me, Minna, and our imaginary friend Lily would go outside together, either playing as knights saving the princess, or running around the grassy floors, with smiles on our faces. We didn't even care if she was just imaginary. To me, to Minna, and to Lily, this friendship was real for both of us, because we were very good friends. No. We were best friends. No matter what we did, or where we go, or how we played, or how we ran and smiled together, or even when we read the King Arthur story, the three of us…were always together, with nothing but smiles on our faces."

"I see." said Saber, "This Lily person, your imaginary friend, must've truly been a wonderful friend."

"Yeah, she was." I said, as I smiled at remembering Lily, "Lily's gone though, since she was just imaginary and we're much older now than we were back then, but she'd still have a place in our hearts." I then frowned, before I sighed and said, "But, that's not exactly the problem right now. The problem right now…is me, and my feelings for Minna right now."

"Hmm?" said Saber, confused, "What do you mean, Master?"

I sighed again and said, "Well, obviously, the good news is that Minna can stay, now that the school's saved, but…the bad news is, after we graduate from Homurahara Academy, Minna…she's going to go back to Germany, because her father's going to step down from business to have an early retirement, and he'll be handing his company to the German family that wants it, and she's going to get forcedly into marriage by that family in Germany. And…my dad said that I only have three months, starting now, to think about my feelings, how I really feel about Minna, and think about whether or not I should have her in my hands."

"Eh?!" said Saber, shocked, "M-Minna…is going to be married?! And…you only have three months to decide?!"

"Yeah." I said, "And…if I…if I don't decide how I really feel about her soon in those three months, then I...I have to cut my ties with Minna, and…I have to let her go, so that she'll be married into that family in Germany…"

"No way…!" said Saber, shocked, "But then…!"

"Yeah…" I said, "But…" I sighed before I continued, "I mean, right now, I'm still thinking about it. It's just…I…I still don't know…how exactly do I feel about her…how exactly do I feel about Minna…I just…I don't know…"

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

I sighed and said, "Maybe they're right…maybe I am really slow…to things like this…"

"Yuzuru," said Saber, "I understand how unsure you're feeling as of now, and I know how difficult it is for you to even see how you really feel about Minna, but you shouldn't push yourself so much to think about it. Answers that we seek don't all come to us in an instant. It just takes time for answers to come. Besides, three months isn't that short, and you still have time to think, and Minna is still waiting patiently for your answers, so-"

"THAT'S THE THINGS!" I shouted out loud, silencing Saber as she looked at me shocked, before I sighed and said in frustration, "I don't know how I feel, because I never felt anything to anyone before! I don't even know what the hell I'm feeling right now, and it frustrates me, not even trying to figure out what my feeling for Minna is! And Minna…she…she…she trusts me, trusted that I would give her my answers for her soon, about how I really feel about her, and here I am, trying so hard and I got nothing! God, I…I know what I said to her, and I know I told her to wait, but…dammit, I feel like I'm just…letting her down!"

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

"I'm…I'm just the worst…!" I said, as I shut my eyes and gripped both of my hands together in frustration, "I-It's just…what if…what if I'll never have the answer to how I feel about her?! What if I'll never return her feelings for me to her?! What if…what if I ended up breaking that trust that she has for me?! What if I'll just let her down because I don't know how I feel?! What if what I had said to her was all just nothing but talk?! What if…what if she'll never trust me again because I let her down, that I failed her?!" I sighed said, "I…I said all those words to Minna, to wait for me until I have my answers, but…what if it was all for nothing? What if I'll just…end up hurting her and breaking that promise to her? She'll…she'll just have to cut off our connections that we have, and I…I'll never see her again."

"That won't happen!" said Saber, sternly.

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, as I looked at Saber with a surprised look.

"Yuzuru, how long have you ever known her for?!" said Saber, sternly, "Do you truly think that she would ever give up on you so easily because of your uncertainty?! Do you truly believe that she would hate you for letting her down?! Do you truly believe that she'll become distant with you because of your lack of understanding of your feelings towards someone you care about?!"

"Uh…well, I…" I said, as I try to think about my relationship with Minna, and how she would always interact with me, even the one that we had last night. I thought about it for a moment, as I think back on when we were kids, and how she would always approach me because she trusts me, and how she would always stay close to me because she wants to be with me, and how she'd always smile because…I was here with her, and she never wanted to leave me, nor wanted me to leave her. Even now, she still smiles and stood close to me because I was here, and she needed me, because she trusts me.

"No." I finally answered, "No, of course not. Of course, she'd never do that, but…"

"Then, there's nothing for you to worry about." said Saber, "Because, out of everyone, she trusts you the most because you've known her better than anyone. You both have something that you both share, and it's your strong bond that you both have together, and it's because of that bond that you two have shared together, that she would never think of you poorly in such a way like that, because you care about her more than anyone else does, and you never once let her down before. And even if you did, she would never think lowly of you, and still trusts you from the bottom of her heart. That's why, you shouldn't worry, and you still have time to think about your true feelings, and Minna will wait for your answer."

"Yeah, but…" I said, before I sighed and said, "I just…I just don't wanna let her down."

"You won't, Yuzuru." said Saber, as she placed her hand on my shoulder, "I'm sure everything will be alright. Besides, three months isn't exactly short, three months will give you long enough time. Just don't think too much, and don't worry. And, if and when the time comes and when you realize how you truly feel about Minna, you'll know what you have to do."

I sighed and said, "IF I know and realize how I truly feel."

"And you will." Saber assured me, "Just take whatever the time that you need. And don't worry so much. Minna is not going anywhere, and she'll wait for you until you have your answers."

I sighed before I said, "Yeah, you're right." I then smiled at Saber and said out of gratitude, "Thanks, Saber. I think I needed that."

Saber nodded with a small smile as she said to me, "You're welcome, Yuzuru. Just don't push yourself too hard, for Minna's sake."

I nodded back and said, "I won't."

Suddenly, there was the sound of the announcement song that was being made, before I heard the sound of Mirai-senpai calling through the loudspeaker, announcing, "Attention, this is an announcement to Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth. Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the student council's office immediately. Again, Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the student council's office immediately. Thank you."

"Mirai-senpai?" I said, confused, "I wonder what she's calling us for?"

"Perhaps it may have something to do with the Grail War." said Saber, "I suppose that since we're in an alliance together, it would make sense that she would call to us to her office."

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, "Well, I guess we should get going then. Why don't we go and see what it's about? It has been a while since we saw them."

"Indeed." Saber nodded, "Perhaps it would be best to know what it is all about, as well as learn what they have been doing for the past week."

* * *

Me and Saber walked our way through the hallways until we found a door that leads to the student council room, and I went up to it before knocking it, and waited for some response. Then, out of response to knocking, the door was opened, revealing to us that it was Aimi who had opened the door to greet us.

"Greeting, Shindou-sama." Aimi bowed with a smile, "We've been expecting you today. Please, come on in."

"Parton our intrusion." I said, as me and Saber let ourselves in.

As we got in, we saw the inside of the student council room, which had two book shelves that were on two sides on the wall, two couches standing on two sides of a table, one of them was where Tsukuda-san was sitting on with her legs crossed and arms folded and her eyes closed, and she looked like she was pissed about something, and a single mahogany desk standing behind the window, where Mirai-senpai was sitting at with her cup of tea in her hand, and Ishikawa-san was standing next to her with a folder of a document in her hand. Mirai-senpai was looking out the window at the sky until she turned her chair around to face me.

"Hello, good to see you again, Yuzuru, Saber." said Mirai-senpai with a smile, as she set her cup of tea down on her desk, "It's been a while since we last saw each other."

"Yeah." I said, "It's been a while."

"Yes, likewise." said Saber.

"I've heard that you've been practicing your sword skills with Saber during your week off of school." Said Mirai-senpai, "How's your progress so far?"

I was surprised that Mirai-senpai had learned that I was training with Saber with my skills on sword for a bit, before scratched the back of my head as I answered with a nervous chuckle, "Uh….heh heh heh. Uh…well, uh…pretty slow, sadly. But, uh…I think I'm getting a pretty good hang of it so far, thanks to Saber."

Saber nodded at that before she answered, "Despite his slow progress, as well as his lack of quick reactions during sparring, he has been slowly improving his fighting skills with his sword, and has been doing whatever he could to improve with his ability on his sword."

"I see." said Mirai-senpai, "Good to hear."

"Um…senpai, how exactly…did you know that?" I asked, "You…uh…you wouldn't have happened to have used your Mystic Eyes to watch over me, would you?"

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "Oh, dear god, no! I wouldn't have bother to have used my Mystic Eyes of Precognition to foresee your actions during the week, and I'd only spoil myself. That wouldn't be of any fun for me." She then looked at me and said, "No, actually, during the week off, I've been sending my companions, taking turns, to watch over you and Saber and Minna to see how you were doing over the week, and they've been taking their turns to inform me of what was happening with you."

"Wait." I said, surprised, "R-Really?"

I heard a grumble behind me and I turned around to see Tsukuda-san, who was grumbling before she gritted her teeth and began growling in anger, as if she was mad about something. Suddenly, she got up from the couch, turned to look at me with an angry look, before she quickly went up to me and suddenly yelled out at me, "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU STUPID IDIOT! WE'VE BEEN BABYSITTING YOU FROM AFAR WHILE YOU WERE OUT PLAYING AROUND WITH YOUR PRINCESS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY SLEEPLESS DAYS AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS I HAD WENT THROUGH WHILE WATCHING OVER YOU FOR THE PAST WEEK?! HELL, I EVEN END UP FALLING ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANGEROUS GODDAMN STREETS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANGEROUS GODDAMN NIGHT, WATCHING OVER YOUR GODDAMN PLACE, MAKING FUCKING SURE THAT NO ONE WOULD COME TO ATTACK YOU GUYS IN YOUR FUCKING SLEEP SINCE YOU CAN'T EVEN USE GODDAMN MAGECRAFT TO PROTECT YOURSELVES, EVEN IN YOUR GODDAMN SLEEP! IT'S HILARIOUS, ISN'T IT?! GO AHEAD, LAUGH IT UP! LAUGH IT THE FUCK UP, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" She turned away from me as she brought the back of her hand close to her face and began laughing out loud like a filthy rich girl would, "AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Huh...now that I think about it…

"Ohh!" I realized, "So, no wonder I felt like someone was watching me! Now, that makes sense!"

"AHH-HA-!" Tsukuda-san suddenly stopped laughing when I said that, before she quickly turned around to look at me with a bewildered look on her face as she asked me, "Wait…you…y-you…you didn't…you didn't notice that?!"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, uh…no, sorry. I was too busy with my training and looking after Minna that I didn't have time to bother or even notice who was watching us."

"Yes, and I didn't feel any hostilities from who was watching over us, so we thought it was just a minor setback." said Saber.

"So, yeah, that's about it." I said, "Umm…w-why?"

Hearing that answer from me, Tsukuda-san dropped down on her knees and looked down on the ground, as if she was feeling ashamed of herself, as she said, "I can't believe it…I actually made a fool out of myself…just my luck…!"

"Uh…" I said, confused, "I'm sorry, I'm confused. What's wrong?"

"Oh, please, do not worry about it, Shindou-sama." Aimi came over with a smile, "The most important thing is that you and Minna are safe from harm. We were just worried that things might go wrong during the whole week, like an enemy Servant suddenly starting to attack you."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"We're here for you when you need it the most, and to provide your friends and your princess protection, just as we promised." said Aimi.

"Oh, thanks, I said, "And also, Minna's not my princess. We're not even in a relationship." I then looked at Tsukuda-san and said, "Well, anyway, thanks for watching over me and Minna. Knowing that you guys are there to watch over me does kinda made me feel relieved. So, uh…thanks, Tsukuda-san."

"Huh?" said Tsukuda-san, surprised, "Wait, you're thanking me?"

"Well, of course." I smiled, "Well, I mean, we are friends, right?"

Tsukuda-san gasped at my word, before she repeated what I said to her, "F-Friends…?"

There was a moment of silence, as Tsukuda-san looked as if she was taking in what I said to her…

Before suddenly, she got up and suddenly punched me in the stomach real hard, knocking the air out of me!

"OHHH!" I screamed in pain, before I covered my stomach from the punch she made and groaned painfully.

"Master?!" Saber screamed, worrying about me being suddenly hit like that.

I groaned in pain from the hit she gave me, before I looked up and said angrily, "HEY, WHAT THE HELL?! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"HAH, YOU REALLY ARE A STUPID IDIOT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Tsukuda-san yelled at me, "SINCE WHEN THE HELL DID YOU AND I HAVE EVER BECOME FRIENDS?!"

"HUH?!" I shouted, incredulously.

Tsukuda-san pointed at me and yelled, "NOW YOU LISTEN HERE, YOU STUPID IDIOT! THE ONLY REASON I KEPT AN EYE ON YOU AND KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS IS BECAUSE WE'RE IN AN ALLIANCE! WE ONLY BROUGHT YOU ALONG BECAUSE WE NEED YOU IN THE HOLY GRAIL WAR! WHAT I DO, I ONLY DO SO OUT OF LADY MIRAI'S ORDERS! SO, YOU AND I ARE ONLY ALLIES IN THIS WAR UNTIL IT'S OVER! I NEVER SAID WE ARE FRIENDS, YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

"HUH?!" I shouted, incredulously, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU ONLY BROUGHT ME ALONG BECAUSE YOU WANT ME TO DO YOU'RE DIRTY SHIT BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKING BAD LUCK AND NOT FOR FRIENDSHIP?!"

"YOU DAMN RIGHT I DID!" Tsukuda-san yelled, "I ONLY BROUGHT YOU ALONG INTO MY SHIT IS BECAUSE YOUR MY GOOD LUCK CHARM! BESIDES, YOU'RE FUCKING SLOW, YOU'RE A STUPID IDIOT, AND I FUCKING HATE YOU AND THE WAY YOU FUCKING ARE! AS IF I WOULD EVER BE FRIENDS WITH A STUPID IDIOT LIKE YOU!" Tsukuda-san then looked away from me with her arms crossed, "HMPH!"

"HUH?!" I shouted, as I gave a shocked expression, as I was shocked from what Tsukuda-san just said to me, before I hung my head down, as I just gave up on saying any more than that, while I hear Mirai-senpai was chuckling as if she was enjoying this.

"But…" Tsukuda-san suddenly said, making me look up at her, as she turned around and said, "If you really want us to start off as friends, then…you can start by calling me by my first name. So, just call me Sayaka from now on. I'm used to being called by my first name, thanks to Lady Mirai, Hiroko and Aimi."

"Huh? Oh, uh…okay." I said, "Then, uh…Sayaka-san?"

"No honorifics, either." she said, "Just Sayaka."

"Oh, uh…alright then." I said, "Then, uh…Sayaka."

Tsukuda-san—no, Sayaka gave out a small smile as she said, "There. Much better."

I returned the smile as I brought out my hand to shake and said, "Well, then, let's be friends, Sayaka."

"Sure." said Sayaka, as she brought out her hand shook mine, "Just try not to slow us down, got it?"

I nodded and said, "I won't."

"Good." said Sayaka.

"Well, now that that's resolved," said Mirai-senpai, "Shall we get straight to the point now?"

"Ah, sure." I said, "So, uh…what did you called us for?"

Mirai-senpai turned to Ishikawa-san and said, "Hiroko?"

"Of course." Ishikawa-san bowed before she turned to me and handed me the folder containing the document and said, "Here, take a look at this."

I took the folder and opened it to see what the document was. The document was a profile of someone, with pictures of a beautiful older woman smiling in it, one for the front, the other for the side, and another with a picture of her full body. In the picture, the woman had long wavy dark blue hair with a small parts of her hair being tied into a small ponytail, and dark blue eyes and she wore light blue glasses. She was dressed in an outfit that is similar to a nun, with a short dark blue veil that doesn't fully cover her hair and a dark blue dress with a white neckerchief and a cross around her neck, her skirt that reaches to her ankle, black high heeled shoes, and a wheelchair that she sits on. I looked at her description with her name on it.

"Manami Asakura," I read, "Age unknown, likely in early twenties, about 5'9" tall, is half Japanese and half French, has a handicap with disabled legs, and runs an orphanage that consists of fifty orphaned children, most of the children who have lost their parents, while some few of them were abandoned by their parents." I looked back at Mirai-senpai and asked, "So, what is it exactly so important about this woman? Does she have something to do with the mage world or the Grail War?"

"More specifically," said Mirai-senpai, "And supposedly, she was meant to be the Master of Archer in this Holy Grail War."

"Archer's Master?" I said, "So then, she's a mage, like you and your friends."

"That is correct." said Mirai-senpai, "According to her biography, Manami Asakura was once an orphan that was run by the Holy Church, the same organization that Caren is in, and was raised under their care ever since both her parents died in an accident, resulting in her legs becoming dysfunctional. However, after discovering that she had Magic Circuits and had the ability to use Magecraft, she was transferred from the Church to the Mage's Association to train under them to become a proper mage, and despite her handicap, she proved herself to be quite a powerful mage, efficient in both healing and Elemental Magecraft. In other words, she is equal to me. And, after leaving the Mage's Association, Asakura had created and ran her own orphanage as a means to take in and raise children who are orphans just like her, loving them and caring for them, acting as a mother figure to all of them."

"I see." I said.

"Her base of operation was the daycare center, where she brought the orphaned children that she raised form her orphanage there for safety from the Grail War." said Mirai-senpai, "The reason why she brought the orphaned children with her was because she does not wish to leave and abandon the children, as she loves the children very dearly. She chose not to leave them be in the orphanage that she runs is, because it is likely that if she left them to be at the orphanage, the other Masters and Servants would've gone after them in order to get to her, and the children would not be safe from the war. Moving the children to a different location was the safest option for her to use."

"Quick thinking." I said.

"And," Mirai-senpai added, "Asakura had a relic, a golden apple that came from Greek mythology, as a means to be used as a catalyst to summon a Servant in the Holy Grail War, and the Servant that she intended to summon as her Archer-Class Servant was Atalanta."

"Atalanta?" I said, before I realized, "Oh! I've heard about her during World History Class with Emilia-sensei! She's some sort of wild huntress who worked for a group called the Argonauts to kill an evil boar in Ancient Greek."

"I would not exactly say she's wild," Aimi stepped in, "But yes, you are correct about that. Atalanta is known as the Chaste Huntress who is formidable with her speed and skill in archery. And, as you said, she's quite famous in Greek for being the first to drive an arrow into the Calydonian Boar during its extermination with Argonauts."

"Yes." said Saber, "I also know about her origin as well. Supposedly, she has the tragic past of being born as the daughter of a king of a certain country and yet being abandoned in the mountains by her father. According to Atalanta's legend, long before she became a member of the Argonauts, she was born as the daughter of King Iasus of Arcadia. However, although she was born in and as the princess of the natural paradise, Atalanta ended up being abandoned in the forests and on the mountains immediately she was born as she was shunned by her father, who desired a son rather than a daughter. However, she had survived thanks to the divine protection from Artemis, the Virgin Moon Goddess and Goddess of the Hunt of Greek Mythology, who felt pity for her. Artemis sent and made a female bear, a sacred beast of the goddess, nurture the girl by giving her milk and raising her up. In gratitude, Atalanta is a fervent follower of Artemis. Since then and throughout her history, while she became known as the fierce huntress in Greek, she also became a symbol of purity for children."

"That is correct." said Aimi, "In other words, she is very similar to Asakura. And, what Atalanta desires is for the happiness, love, and the salvation of all children throughout the whole world, far and wide."

"So, the reason why Manami Asakura chose Atalanta to be her Servant as an Archer, is because she shares and desires the same wish that Atalanta has; the salvation for all children." I said, "And if that's the case, then it's likely that since they both share a noble cause, they both would get along well together as Master and Servant, and would both make an impactful team."

"Precisely." said Aimi.

"Huh." I said, as I looked at the picture of her, "You know, hearing about her back story and her reason, I think that she's actually more of a good person. Honestly, I think I'd like for us to get along with each other."

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "Yes, I figured you would say that." Her expression suddenly faltered as she said, "Unfortunately, however, I'm afraid meeting her in person may not happen."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "W-Why? What do you mean?"

Mirai-senpai then took out what looks like to be a newspaper report, before handing it over to me and said, "This happened very recently. Approximately six months ago before the Grail War started."

I took the newspaper from her and took a good look at it for a bit, before I gasped as I read at what was written on the headline as it said, "Daycare Center of Shinto Town Burned, Unknown Fire Occurred."

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "This daycare center…could it be…?"

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, "It's the same daycare center that Manami Asakura intended to use as her base of operation, as well as a safe haven for those orphaned children that she brought with her."

"No way…" I said, "But, what could've caused this fire to happened?"

"I'm unsure myself, to be honest." said Mirai-senpai, "However, while we were investigating, we discovered some things that were considered off after the fire had stopped. One is that there were the dead bodies of the orphaned kids, who were all missing their arms and legs and their inside organs, found at the kitchen, as well as the smell of blood, as if somebody had died in there. The second was that there was the summoning circle that was already used to summon a Servant, an Archer-Class. However, the golden apple that was meant to summon Atalanta was not used as a catalyst to summon a Servant, meaning that Atalanta, the Heroic Spirit that was meant to be an Archer-Class Servant, was not summoned into this Holy Grail War."

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "But then…could that mean that Manami Asakura was just making a rust about herself, and was actually the one who killed the kids?!"

"No." said Ishikawa-san, "Asakura is not the type of person who would make such lies about herself, and she would never go that far as to hurt the innocent orphaned children that she loves dearly. As you said, she's a good person, so she would never do anything that is considered evil, nor resort to any violence whatsoever."

"Oh…" I said, now relieved, "Okay, then…if it's not her, then who?"

"Well, that's where the third comes in." said Mirai-senpai, before she turned to Aimi nodded to her.

Aimi nodded back before she brought out a book that looked to have been burned. They must've found it and picked it up from that daycare. Aimi came to me and handed me the book to take a look at it, so I took the book and opened it to take a look and see what it is. In the book, as I was slowly flipping them over to get a good look on what the book was about, I could see words that were…well, too complicated to read in, and pictures of people that looked to be as if they were going through changes, and from the looks of it in those pictures, it was DEFINITELY not a good change.

"Huh." I said, as I kept flipping them the pages and looking at the words and pictures, "I can't really read this thing. The languages in this book, it looks like it's Romanian. But, the pictures…I think I can tell what it's about. According to the pictures, it looks like it's about how to turn somebody or some people into monsters. And, from the looks of these pictures, they DEFINITELY don't look like good monsters."

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "What that book that you have in your hand is talking about how to turn someone or even the whole people into beings known as Dead Apostles."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh…Dead A-what now?"

"Oh, that's right." said Mirai-senpai, "You're probably unfamiliar with the terms that we mages use in the mage world." She folded her hands and made an expression as if she was thinking to herself as she said, "Hmm, now let's see…" Then, as if a thought finally came to her, before she said before asking me, "Ah, yes! I know! Now, tell me, Yuzuru, are you familiar with the term 'vampires' and what they are?"

"Oh, yeah, I do." I said, "I mean, who else doesn't know what they are? Vampires are bloodsucking monsters who sucks out blood out of living creatures, like us humans, for example. Vampires usually sucks blood out of people as a way of getting their nutrition, and when vampires suck the blood out of their intended target, the victim becomes a vampire as well, before going to their next victim. Basically, they're like parasites. Or, at least, that's what I know from old folk tales and comics and stuff."

"Yes, that's correct." said Mirai-senpai, before she explained, "You see, in your term, you refer to these bloodsucking creatures as "vampires". In the mage world term, we refer to them as "Dead Apostles". There's not much differences about them aside from the naming that we give them. Dead Apostles are former human beings that became what you know them as vampires, either by the use of Magecraft or by the actions of another vampire of similar nature such as another Dead Apostle. Among the creatures that fall under the vampire category, they are the most numerous, and the main targets of the Executors of the Burial Agency, an organization created by the Holy Church for the purpose of stopping the spreading of the heresy known as vampires by exterminating the Dead Apostles."

"I see." I said.

"There is also another set of category of vampires." said Mirai-senpai, "However, these days, those in this category has become very rare and has not since been heard of for years, as they are considered…unique among them. These unique vampires are called True Ancestors, incarnated nature spirits who're akin to the Elementals. They are vampiric creatures from birth, however, unlike the Dead Apostles and other blood-sucking species, the root of their bloodlust is psychological rather than physical. Also, because they are part of nature, they can use the power called Marble Phantasm to change the world around them according to their thoughts. They can be classified as a type of greater fairy and their Foundation is of a Mystery that cannot be reached through magecraft. They are said to be Planet-class Spirits, a rank higher than Divine Spirits."

"I see." I said.

"At an undetermined point of time in the past," Mirai-senpai explained, "Gaia, the will of the planet, suffered with the indiscriminate corruption that humans caused in the environment. Because at the time it lacked the means to defend itself from humans, Gaia sent a plea to the other celestial bodies for help, on the criteria that only a planet is able to correctly judge another of its kind. The one who answered Gaia's plea was Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, or simply called the Crimson Moon, who offered a pact to the planet, and in exchange of being allowed to live on Earth, Crimson Moon would allow the creation of a self-defense mechanism for the planet based on him. From this pact between the Ultimate One of the moon and the will of the Earth the True Ancestors were born as a Counter Force with definite form, created for the purpose of returning the planet to its original state, before the corruption caused by humans. Despite their origins as anti-human entities, Alaya, the will of humanity, does not see the True Ancestors as targets. That is because the True Ancestors are extensions of the world, mediators of nature, before being enemies of humanity. However, differently from Divine Spirits, they are supernatural beings born from the world without the interference of people. That which is desired by the planet but not by humanity is bound to fade from the observable world and decline in numbers. However, during the 12th century, the True Ancestors had decreased to a mere hundred, from which the majority were killed when one of them known as "the White Princess" went berserk."

"I see." I said.

"While being born from nature just as any natural spirits," Mirai-senpai continued, "The True Ancestors are fundamentally mere copies of the Crimson Moon with minds and bodies modeled after humans, the latter done so under the principle that it would be best for them to resemble those who they are supposed to rule over. Because Crimson Moon was their basis, the True Ancestors not only turned to be detached from nature's desire of protection from humans, but also inherited a terrible flaw from the original called Vampiric Impulses. In their case, it is a purely psychological impulse that pushes them to suck the blood of others, and because there is no physical reason behind those impulses, there is no definite cure for them. Thus, the True Ancestors need to sleep through their childhood until they are mature enough to have self-control. From that point on, the True Ancestors must use their own powers to keep the impulses in check. That is why, even though they have the capacity to manipulate nature at will, they never fight at 100% as most of their powers is already being used to restrain themselves. However, because there is no end to the vampiric impulses, they do not disappear and instead accumulate with time. Eventually, those impulses will become too powerful to be restrained and threatens to take over. The only choice left in this case is for the True Ancestors to fall into a deep, eternal sleep. This can be said to be the limit of life of those without a definite lifespan."

"I see." I said.

"The original members of the Dead Apostles were created to act as counter-measures in the case of a True Ancestor being overwhelmed by his or her thirst for blood." Mirai-senpai explained, "In exchange for losing their free will and becoming a tool to relieve the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, these individuals were granted powers and longevity similar to their masters. However, what they received was still a flawed form of immortality and it was soon discovered that they needed to suck the blood of others to survive. Just like the True Ancestors, these vampires have the instinct known as Vampiric Impulses, which pushes them to suck the blood of others. However, differently than the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, they have the physical need to suck the blood of others in order to maintain their own bodies. For those Dead Apostles who used to be human, it is something not entirely dissimilar from an expression of love. The result of repeatedly sucking the blood of humans was the emergence of a sense of superiority in the heart of the servants of the True Ancestors. Such a thing eventually gave birth to a feeling of rebellion towards their masters, which then lead the servants to find ways of strengthening their mental control and escaping from the domain of the True Ancestors. After the rebellion, these blood-sucking humans became known as the Dead Apostles. Although the Dead Apostles are maverick and individualistic by nature, there is a form of ruling body among them: The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, he aristocratic elite of the vampires. At first, they were a group formed only by the original Dead Apostles who escaped from the True Ancestors, today however it is more of a collection of very odd, but powerful bloodsucking characters who are divided into multiple rival factions. Most of the original Dead Apostles were destroyed along the generations or sealed away by the Church. Afterward, their seats among the 27 Ancestors were either left empty or filled by somewhat suitable replacements. On a side note, those sealed away are actually just placed into eternal imprisonment inside special coffins, for the Church lacks the means to definitely destroy them. Meanwhile, some of the factions of minions of those sealed Ancestors still remain and are slowly gaining power to either free their masters or destroy them."

"I see." I said.

"Although they appear to have capacities beyond human limitations, most vampires actually acquired their powers by constantly refining human-inherent abilities throughout their extended lives." Mirai-senpai continued, "They also show signs of Mystery which accumulates over time and grows stronger with age. In other words, anyone with a similarly long lifespan has the potential to reach a level comparable to the Dead Apostles. Also, contrary to popular belief, vampires can be killed with conventional weaponry. However, that is a feat near impossible to accomplish since their superior reflexes and physical abilities allow them to see and dodge a bullet after it has been shot. They can gain these inhuman physical abilities because their hands and feet are not connected by nerves, as the only thing that connects a vampires body together is the blood of others. They also gain vampiric claws and senses keener than those of a human. Then as long as you are human, you can't deceive the vampires sense of smell or their sense of taste who can even detect alcohol in the blood of their victims. They are also able, through their long life and training their abilities or by finishing their magical research, to develop their own 'special abilities'. An example would be that some vampires can change their bodies freely so that you cannot rely on appearance to identify them. However, the downside of acquiring a power that humans originally would not have is that the genes that compose their bodies are constantly degenerating and once they die they won't leave a trace as their bodies turn into ash. The only way to interrupt and reverse this degeneration, even if just temporarily, is by regularly ingesting the blood of living creatures in order to absorb genetic information and stabilize their own bodies. On that note, even though human blood and especially the blood of virgins, because one's blood cells are purer before one has exchanged bodily fluids with others, are the most suited to the needs of the vampires, the blood of animals is a viable alternative. Due to their advanced age, Dead Apostles that have lived for at least one thousand years require enormous amounts of energy. Rather than a measure of their power, it is instead because compensation is needed for the maintenance of such a long-lived existence. And, there are a few "weaknesses" common to all Dead Apostles which are sunlight that greatly hastens their bodies' degeneration and running water. However, there are powerful Apostles that are capable of conquering the sunlight and move around during the day, and any Apostle can use the advances of technology like a plane or a ship for their advantage. On the other hand, the Executors of the Church who possess holy sacraments and other holy weapons are a great threat to them."

"I see." I said, "So, basically, the only way to take out a Dead Apostle is the same way as to take out a vampire."

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "And, the growth process is if a vampire injects some of its own black blood into a human victim's bloodstream, the said victim will be infused with some of the vampire's own power and their body becomes unable to completely die. The black blood violates and burns the whole body from the inside. But in most cases however, the body dies and with it, the soul of the victim. The final result would be a mindless familiar known as The Dead, the traditional familiars of the vampires, but few actually use them today since their presence will alert vampire hunters such as the Burial Agency. However, in the rare occurrence of the said victim possessing a high physical potential and the capacity of their soul is excellent, it prevents the body and with it the soul from dying. He will instead become a Ghoul and embark on climbing the ladder to becoming a full-fledged Vampire. Furthermore, the extension of its powers is dependent on the abilities and amount of minions pertaining to its parent vampire, whom it is bound, both mentally and spiritually. Ghouls are born when the body of a vampire's victim is unable to completely die. After, their corpse is buried and left for several years in the grave, their brain will rot, and the human soul will be freed from the cage of the body. The decayed corpse would then begin its activity as a kind of living dead, with their transformed souls, have now bypassed the necessity of the brain to hold the soul, as the soul is now separate from the body. They have mental capacities pretty much equivalent to that of a savage beast and they must devour other corpses to reconstruct their own degenerated flesh. After many years of this they restore their bodies and thus, their brain, which now anchors their soul again to the body. The soul can now reshape itself with the brain and the body and they fully recover their intelligence and memories. After several years of development, a Ghoul regains all of its memories and a full human intellect. They finally become mature vampires who can now attain power of their own, move by their own will, capable of creating other vampires and having their own minions. It takes decades, of acclimating to life in the darkness, to complete this Growth Process. The new born vampire gains the necessary knowledge to understand the changes of its body and quickly grows accustomed to living as a vampire. However, it is still bound to the will of its parent vampire, as they cannot escape from the rule of their sire's blood. They are forced, when they acquire blood, to supply the majority of it to their parent vampire. Consequently, the child vampire will eventually try to become a parent vampire themselves. They will start to threaten the world by creating servants of their very own, while remaining subservient to the vampire that made them. A vampire can only become a full-fledged Dead Apostle after breaking free from the control of their parent vampire."

"I see." I said.

"But enough about that," said Mirai-senpai, "That's beside the point. What I intended to tell you was that when we went to investigate what had happened to the daycare center where Manami Asakura had resided at, we found a dead body of a Dead Apostle that was lying on the summoning circle, the same circle that was meant to summon a Servant for the Holy Grail War."

"What?" I said, "No way."

"What's more, is that there was a wheelchair that belonged to Manami Asakura." Mirai-senpai added, "However, Asakura herself was not present at the summoning room."

"No way." I said, "But then…could that mean that…Manami Asakura's dead?"

"Most likely, though I cannot say for sure." said Mirai-senpai, "We know that her wheelchair was there at the room at the time, but…if she was dead, then where was her body to begin with? And why was it her body went missing when we were there? And what kind of Heroic Spirit is it that was summoned into this Holy Grail War as an Archer-Class Servant? Until we know for certain about our answers, there's not much else we can do about it."

"I see." I said, before a thought came to me and I asked, "Then, can't we at least ask some people who were affiliated with her at the time before she went missing or dead? I mean, she DID might've had allies on her side, right?"

"If we could, yes." said Ishikawa-san, "But even if we did know who they were, we have no idea where they are now. The only thing that we do know about them is that they're members of the Holy Church from France, who Asakura has connections to because of her half-French blood. And their names, aside from what their location is at, we don't know."

"I see." I said.

"We can't also risk that, either." Sayaka added, "We don't even know if they had anything to do with what happened at the daycare center or not, nor do we know if they're responsible for what happened with Asakura or not. It's possible that we have people who're breaking the rules of the Holy Grail War."

"Rule breakers?" I asked.

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "I asked Caren about whether there were people she knew at the Church who would go through such antics of breaking the rules of the Holy Grail War, and she's been trying to figure it out for a while, but hasn't found anything yet. She told me that if possible, we may have to prepare ourselves for who these rule breakers are and find out what their reasons behind it is, as well as take them out as soon as possible before the Grail War gets out of hand."

"So, in short, we need to find them and kill them before they make the situation worse." I concluded.

"Exactly." said Mirai-senpai.

"But, can't we just, like, I don't know, bring them in to the police or something, or maybe people related to the mage world that's similar to the police officers?" I asked.

"Well, we could, if we deem it unnecessary to kill them." said Mirai-senpai, "However, if what they're doing is putting too much risk into both the real world and the mage world and if it gets out of hand, then we won't have any other choice but to kill them, if it means to protect both the real world and the mage world."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"Look, I can see what you're getting at." said Mirai-senpai, "Believe me, I do. Honestly, I don't like the idea of taking another's life, either. In fact, none of us do. But we all knew what we were getting into once we entered the Holy Grail War, and if it means keeping both our world safe from the danger that may occur, then we'll have to do what it is absolutely necessary to keep everyone safe. Besides, you wouldn't want people that you care about dying because of what the people in the Grail War has done, do you?"

I sighed and said, "No, of course not. It's just…I just wanna believe that there might be a good chance that whoever they are might still have some good in them, and we don't need to do what's necessary by killing them, that's all. And, I just don't want good people to die because of them, or because of me. I know it sounds naïve, but…that's what I think."

"I understand." said Mirai-senpai, "You want to believe that there is good in people, and that's exactly what's good about you. Just try not to put too much faith in it. Otherwise, it'll break how you see in everyone."

"I'll try not to." I said.

I then handed the book back to Aimi who gladly took it back from me, before I asked, "So, what're you gonna with that book now? It's probably useless by now."

"We'll just bring it over to Caren so that she'll either look into it more or get rid of it." Aimi smiled, "Plus, we need to ensure that it doesn't, or at least no longer, falls into the wrong hands. We can't let people use this book to cause more people to become Dead Apostles."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea, because…that would be bad."

"Yes, indeed." Aimi smiled.

"So, anyway," I turned to Mirai-senpai and asked, "What'll we do now?"

"For now, go back to class." said Mirai-senpai, "We shall contact you once we find out where the members of the Church from France are and what our next move shall be. Oh, before that, we already have your contact, but you don't have ours yet, so we shall give ours, so we can keep in touch. Will that be alright?"

"Oh, sure." I said, as I brought out my phone and handed it to them, "I don't mind."

Sayaka took my phone and placed her contact in it before handing it over to Aimi, who gladly took it and placed her contact in it and then handed it over to Ishikawa-san, who silently took and placed hers in it, and then she handed it to Mirai-senpai, who took it with a smirk on her face before she placed her contact in it, before handing it back over to me, and I took it.

"So, we'll keep in touch?" I asked.

"Of course." said Mirai-senpai, "We'll see you soon after."

"Okay, then." I said, as I went to the door with Saber to leave, "I'll see you girls later."

"See you again, Shindou-sama." Aimi bowed with a smile.

"Yeah, later." Sayaka waved off.

"Be safe." said Ishikawa-san.

With that, I nodded to them before I turned around to the door and opened to leave and head back to class, with Saber following behind me. Before I did, however, a thought came to me, as I remembered something, and it was about Berserker. I turned back around to Mirai-senpai before I asked, "Hey, senpai, can I ask one more thing? It's about the True Ancestors."

"Of course." said Mirai-senpai, "What is it?"

"Well," I said, before asking, "You said that they're powerful beings, right? How exactly strong are they?"

"There are different levels of power in the True Ancestor hierarchy." said Mirai-senpai, "All True Ancestors possess power beyond human comprehension from the moment they are born, and there are few who can match them in terms of strength, speed and endurance. They have the normal vampire claws, and only very few conceptual weapons can harm them. All vampires can ignore damage from most sources as their body will revert to the pre-damaged state rapidly, unless a conceptual weapon such as the Black Keys used by members of the Church nullifies this ability. At night they are almost invulnerable, and their power is at its peak during the full moon, rendering them indestructible. They also have the power called Marble Phantasm, the ability to materialize a phantasm, a vision. It is the capacity of an Elemental or True Ancestor to connect their will to nature, as a means of interfering with probabilities, and transfiguring the surrounding world at will, in accordance to their vision of the world. As the user is a part of nature, he or she can change the world as desired. But in the end, what an elemental can act on is only something that can only be achieved within the limited scopes of nature. The capacity of the actualization is proportional to the scale of the elemental. Basically, they can change reality to create any naturally occurring effect."

"I see." I said, "And, is there anyone among the True Ancestors that is considered the strongest of them all?"

"Hmmm, let me think." said Mirai-senpai, "Yes, I believe there is. Among the True Ancestors, there is a royalty called the Brunestud; it is a title bestowed upon all True Ancestor royalty who come close in power to Brunestud of the Crimson Moon by displaying the ability to manifest his Millennium Castle Brunestud, originally the lair from Crimson Moon Brunestud, through Marble Phantasm. While the True Ancestors have no proper concept of hierarchy, those able to manifest the castle have been uplifted as royalty. One of the True Ancestors to have ever held the name in the entire long history of the race was the princess of the True Ancestors, as mentioned before, was known as The White Princess of the True Ancestors."

"I see." I said.

"Why do you ask?" Mirai-senpai asked.

"Oh, no reason." I said, "Just wondering. Well, gotta go."

Me and Saber left the office and began walking our way back to our class. As we walked, Saber looked at me and asked, "Yuzuru, about what you asked them…does it have something to do with Berserker?"

"Yeah." I said, "It's just…I mean, I know the mage world and stuff are supposed to be kept secret and all, but I can't help but think there isn't anything mentioned about the True Ancestors. And Berserker, she did fight against us with claws, and she did seem somehow powerful at night during the full moon when we faced her before I summoned you."

"Yes." said Saber, "Although, when I was summoned, and I fought against her, Berserker looked as if she was being held back, as if she couldn't go all out. No. Rather, I think it's more like she doesn't want to go all out. Which explains why she never goes into Madness Enhancement to increase her raw strength and power, or else she'd lose her rationality."

"Well, I guess that's true." I said, "If I remember right, Berserkers tend to go crazy mad when they have Madness Enhancement and can do wild and crazy things without meaning to. Still though, I don't think there's any mentions about her in our world history class. Saber, do you maybe know something about Berserker? Since, you know, the Throne of Heroes and all that?"

Saber looked away and tried to think for a moment, before she answered, "No, I've never seen nor heard anyone of someone like Berserker before. Actually, it's possible that there's no historic information about her at all. In fact, she's not even recorded into the Throne of Heroes."

"Wait, what?!" I said, shocked, "Hold on! You mean to say that…Berserker isn't even a historical figure of any history at all?! That she's some fake spirit that wondered here or something?!"

"No, I would not say that." said Saber, "Berserker can materialize in physical form and dematerialize in spiritual form, which means that she's indeed a spirit that has died, but not of that of a Heroic Spirit recorded into the Throne of Heroes. Which means that she is indeed a Servant, but not a Servant that was summoned from the Throne of Heroes. Honestly, even I do not know how to explain it to you. Perhaps, there may have been something wrong with the system that brought Berserker here. However, that's as much as I could tell you."

"I see." I said.

"I can say this, however," said Saber, making me turn to her, "That whatever Berserker is, she's clearly not human, and I'm certain that whatever it is about Berserker is completely unnatural. In short, she's certainly dangerous."

"I see." I said, as I remained silent for a bit, before I asked, "Then, if she's unnatural and not entirely human, do you think that she could be a True Ancestor or a Dead Apostle? I mean, she did have hands that she can form into claws and use them in combat, and she was pretty strong during the full moon. And her eyes…she did have eyes that were that of a vampire."

"Hmmm." said Saber, as she thought about it for a bit, "It's possible, yes. But we cannot know for sure. If that is the case, however, then she's not a proper Servant summoned into this Grail War nor a Heroic Spirit that was meant to be a Servant in the first place. Until we know for certain, there's not much else we can do to confirm."

"Yeah, good point." I said, "Well, at least we know who or what we might be dealing with. And I just hope that we won't be seeing her again. But, if and when we do see Berserker again, we'll be ready for her."

"Agreed." said Saber, "We'll be staying on our guard for her."

* * *

Sakura's POV:

School had ended, and it was already almost close to evening. I was in the school faculty room greeting the other teachers and staffs goodbye as they all packed up and began to leave one by one.

"Good work today, Sakura!" Mitsuzuri-senpai smiled and waved as she left, "See you tomorrow!"

"Yes, see you tomorrow, senpai!" I smiled and waved back.

I stood and watched as almost all of my fellow teachers and staff members left the faculty, with just me and a few others left.

"Um…excuse me." I heard someone called.

"Hmm?" I turned around and saw it was Minna who was approaching me, before I smiled and said, "Ah, Minna, what a surprise! How can I help you today? Did you need me to help you with something?"

Minna was already wearing our school's uniform after she finally got the school uniform that she needed to wear for our school and after our school had finally been saved, and she looked really good in the uniform as she was dressed nicely like every other female students here in school. The only one thing that she kept was her a white beret from her old school uniform because, apparently, everybody in school recommended her to keep her beret on as it makes her look cute. Well, to the boys, at least.

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "Well, actually, I heard from everyone that you were called the "School's Mother" for always caring like a mother for everyone and would give lots of good advice for everyone during guidance counseling. Is it true?"

"Ah, yes." I chuckled, "I tend to get that a lot from my students, mostly the boys. So, what about it? Oh! Do you perhaps need me to help you with your life in school? Are you having any troubles?"

"Ah, nein." Minna shook her head, "It's not that. It's just…um…well…"

"Hmm?" I said.

"I-I was wondering if you could help me by giving me advice about getting closer to someone you truly love!" Minna finally said, "I…I wanna know how to get closer to someone that I love, because I love him!"

"Oh?" I said, "You want advice from me on love?"

"J-Ja!" said Minna.

I was about to ask her why would she need advice from me about love, before a thought came to me and I realized why, as she did give a hint who it was, before I smiled and said, "Ahhh! I see! It's about Shindou-kun, isn't it?"

"Ja." said Minna, "That's why, I need your advice on love and how to get closer to him and be with him more."

"Ah, I see." I said, "But, Minna, aren't you and Shindou-kun already close enough together? He already knows that you love him, so there's no reason for you to receive any love advice from me or anyone."

"Well, um…actually…" said Minna, as she looked down on the floor with a sad look on her face, as if something was bothering her.

Seeing her like that made me felt concerned for her, so I placed my hand on her shoulder before I asked out of concerned, "Minna, what's wrong?"

Minna remained silent for a moment, before she said, "Well, um…well, it's Yuzu-kun. It's just…I'm worried that he…Yuzu-kun won't be choosing me to be his lover anytime soon. I'm worried that Yuzu-kun won't see me as a woman to love, and that he won't see me that way, as his love interest. And, I'm scared that…he won't be able to make up his mind and decide on time."

"Minna…" I said.

"I know that I'm supposed to wait for him to find out how he feels." said Minna, "I know that I told him that I'd wait for him for his answers, and I mean it. But, I'm scared…I'm scared that Yuzu-kun…what if he doesn't find out how he really feels about me in time? What if he'll never find out? Or, what if he actually doesn't feel the same way about me? I'm scared that Yuzu-kun…won't be able to figure out his feelings, or won't see me as his lover the same way as I see him. That's why…"

"I see." I said, as I nodded to her in understanding what she meant, "Yes, that is troubling. And Shindou-kun IS a bit dense and slow when it comes to topic like love. Don't get me wrong, it's not that he DOESN'T know what love is, it's just that he doesn't know exactly how people feel about him, nor does he understand how he really feels about others. Because of that, it makes him somewhat very confused about his personal feelings towards others."

"Ja, and that's what I'm afraid of." said Minna, "I'm scared that Yuzu-kun won't be able to understand his true feelings because of his confusion about his feelings. I love Yuzu-kun so much, and I trust him with all my heart, but…I'm worried, scared that Yuzu-kun will…he'll never understand his true feelings for me. That's why, I came to you for your advice to get much closer to him, because…I wanna help him to be able to understand his feelings, and I want…to deepen our bond that we have together."

"I see." I said, "That sounds very wonderful, Minna."

"Ja." said Minna, "So, that's why, Matou-sensei, I really need your advice. Is there…is there something that I can do, to get much closer to Yuzu-kun, so that he'll notice me more? As his lover."

"Hmmm…let me think…" I said, as I thought for a moment, while taking a good look at Minna. Let's see…what CAN Minna do…to get Shindou-kun hers? I looked at Minna thoroughly from top to bottom to see if there was anything good about her, aside from personality. I kept looking until my eyes spotted her chest area, as I DID remember Shindou-kun mentioning that her breasts were two cups bigger than mine. Overall, Minna DOES have a very good body, so much so that she could seduce him with it if she wants to. Wait…seduce…?

Suddenly, a thought came into my head, as I actually thought up of a good idea for Minna to get her to have Shindou-kun! Of course! If she does that, then I'm sure that it will get his attention! While also…hehehehehe! I liked the idea so much that I gave out a teasing smile, because, Ohh, I just know that it'll be so much fun!

"Hm?" said Minna, confused, "Umm…Matou-sensei, what's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing." I smiled at Minna, "Actually, I might just know what'll work out for you, Minna."

Minna gasped with a smile and said, "Really?! Will you really help me?!"

"Yes." I said, "Of course. Just leave everything to me. As your mother of this school, it is my duty to help and care for my students with any sorts of problems that they're dealing with every day. So, I will do everything in my power to help you get the man that you love." Of course, you're also doing me a favor to mess with him! "Ah, but before that, Minna, you have to promise me that you WON'T tell anyone about it, nor your reasons or your worries of why you're doing this. Okay? Even if you tell Shindou-kun that I'm helping you, you cannot EVER tell him your reasons or your worries, because if you do, it'll just makes things a bit harder for him. Understand?"

"Ja!" Minna nodded, "I promise!"

"Ah, good then!" I smiled, before I looked around our surroundings and then placed both my hands on her shoulders and said, "Okay now, Minna, listen to me very carefully…"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Our last class was already over, and I had finished packing up all my stuff along with Saber, before we both walked out of the classroom to leave.

"Hey, Yuzuru!" I heard someone called me, and I turned around to see it was Kurosawa-san who was coming over to me along with Hiiragi.

"Oh, Kurosawa-san, Hiiragi." I said, "What's up?"

"Hey, man, have you seen Asada-san today?" Kurosawa-san asked.

"We haven't seen her today." said Hiiragi, worriedly.

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wasn't she with you guys?"

"No, we thought she was with you." said Kurosawa-san, "We haven't seen her all day today, so we thought maybe you've seen her."

"Well, no, sorry." I said, "I haven't seen her. Why, did something happen?"

"Well, nothing happened." said Kurosawa-san, "We just…haven't seen her today, or at all, really."

"Yeah." said Hiiragi, "And we haven't been seeing her since…well, for the whole week last week. Hell, she hasn't even shown up for when our school was brought back!"

"Huh." I said, "Well, maybe something must've happened with her family back at home, so she had to skip school."

"That's what we thought, too." said Kurosawa-san, "But when we came over to her house to visit her, she didn't show up to see us. And her parents weren't there, either."

"We've been asking people who knows her where she is, but they don't have a clue, either." said Hiiragi, "It's really weird."

"Huh." I said, "Yeah, it IS weird. Well, I'm sure Asada-san will show up again sooner or later. Once she does, we'll just ask her where she's been and see if she's alright and all. Besides, I'm sure she might've had her reasons to be absent from school, we'll just have to hear her out."

"Well, yeah, I guess." said Kurosawa-san, "Well, anyway, thanks for the help, man."

"Not at all." I said, "See you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, take care." said Kurosawa-san, as he went passed me and left, before he said to Saber, "See you, too, Elaina."

"Yes, you as well." said Saber.

"See ya later, Yuzzuchi, Elaina!" Hiiragi smiled and waved, before she went off and left.

We watched them leave until they were out of our sight, before I turned to Saber and asked, "Well, what do you think, Saber? Do you think something's wrong with Asada-san?"

"Hmmm." said Saber, as she thought for a moment, before she answered, "I'm not sure entirely. However, I highly doubt that Chikako would be absent from school unless she had a reason as you said she would. It's just…I cannot help but feel as if she's hiding something. Something that she has no intention of telling anyone and wants to keep to herself, as if it's…something off."

"You still have this bad feeling about her?" I asked.

"Yes." said Saber, "I just…I do not know why, but I feel as if Chikako is keeping you and everyone else you know in the dark, as she has some sort of dark and ominous secret that she'd keep until she intends to reveal her dark intentions. And it's possible…that she may be a part of something that is…no, I can't say it. It's…too hard to say, and I do not believe that you'd understand."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Well, if Asada-san is hiding something, I'm sure she had her reasons. We'll just have to ask her when we see her again. Well, IF we can see her again. But, I'm sure she'll turn up eventually. Well, I hope."

"Yes." said Saber, "I hope so, as well. And I do hope that…I may be wrong."

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "Wrong about what?"

"No, it's nothing." Saber shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, anyway, let's head home while we can. Better go home and prepare dinner for tonight."

"Agreed." said Saber, "I do wish to have something to satisfy my appetite for dinner."

"Well, then, let's go." I said.

* * *

Both me and Saber walked through the hallways until we got out of the building and we went to get out through the school gate. Which, surprisingly, was completely fixed up compared to what had happened during our fight with Caster. I guess the priestess Caren must've did all the work to fix this up so that no one would know what had happened. Heh, pretty quick of her on covering things up, I'll give her that.

"Yuzu-kun!" I heard someone called, and I turned around to see Minna who was waving at me with a smile on her face.

"Minna!" I smiled back, "Hey!"

As soon as Minna caught up to us, Minna came up to me before she held onto my arm with both of hers as she giggled happily and said, "Yuzu-kun, let's go home together!"

"Whoa, Minna, hold on!" I said, as I tried to pull away but couldn't, "Don't just grab onto me like that. People will get the wrong idea."

"Nein, I don't mind." said Minna, as she held me tighter, "If I can walk home with Yuzu-kun, then I don't care what everyone says about us."

"Minna, c'mon." I said.

Saber chuckled next to us and said, "You might as well give up and go along with it, Yuzuru. Besides, she's not going to take no for an answer."

"Well…" I said, as I looked at Minna, who was already giving out her cutest expression that I could never say no to. I sighed before I smiled and said, "Well, alri-"

"AHEM!" we heard someone said, and we turned around to see it was Yukitsuki-san, who for some reason, was not pleased with what's going on with us.

"Oh, hey, Yukitsuki-san!" I said, "Uh, sorry, we didn't see you there. We were just-"

"I know." said Yukitsuki-san, before she looked at Minna and said, "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but you're kinda bothering some people with the way your interacting with him right now. Would you please be so kind as to let go of him right now?"

"Eh?" said Minna, "Btu why? I don't mind holding him this way. We're already close enough to hug each other."

"Well, you should mind." said Yukitsuki-san, "You're starting to bother people and giving them the wrong impression about you, and people will get the wrong idea that you two are a couple."

"I don't mind." said Minna.

"You really should!" said Yukitsuki-san.

"Whoa, relax." I said, as I stepped in, "It's fine. I was gonna let her hold onto me anyway. And besides, it's not like anybody cares what we're doing. Plus, everybody knows we're already close this way since we're childhood friends."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And besides," I cut her off, "Minna means well to everyone and I trust her, so there's no reason for me to deny her or anything."

"But-" Yukitsuki-san tried to say.

But then Saber stepped in and said, "Yukitsuki, I think you should just leave them be. Yuzuru has good reasons to trust Minna, as she is harmless and has no reason to be considered harmful. Besides, we shouldn't bother these two if they have no reason to refuse each other."

"But…" Yukitsuki-san tried to say, before she sighed as she gave in and said, "Well, alright. Just…don't do this too often, okay?"

"We'll try not to." I said, and Minna nodded while holding onto me tighter.

"Well, anyway, let's go home." said Yukitsuki-san, as she walked passed us. Soon enough, we began to follow suit, walking right behind her.

I then heard Saber stopped herself as she said while looking at a different direction, "Hmm?!"

I turned around and asked, "Huh? Hey, Elaina? What's wrong?"

Saber looked in silences for a moment, before she turned away to look at us and said, "No, it's nothing. I just…I thought I felt like someone was watching us. It's probably my imagination."

"Oh, okay." I said, before we turned back and kept on walking to get home, and Saber looked back for a bit before she followed right behind us.

* * *

Archer's POV:

I stood at the top of the tree a bit far away from the academy as the wind blew by while letting my skirt flow freely, as I watched from afar to take a good look at our enemies, the Master of Saber and the Master of Assassin.

I first started off with the boy who was with a girl with silver hair. His power…it was faint, but I could tell that he has potential magical ability that hasn't fully awakened yet. And the blonde woman with him…yes, I could tell that she was a Servant as I felt her energy and power, and how she's connected to that boy. So, that must be Saber, and that boy must be her Master.

I then looked at the window where I saw a woman wearing a red trench coat looking out the window while having her cup of tea along with those three other girls with her. And her power…yes, I could tell that she has powerful magical ability of that of a first rate mage, and I could feel that she's connected to an Assassin-Class Servant. I see…and that woman must be Assassin's Master. And those three girls with her must be her lackeys. That woman in red was looking out at the boy who was with Saber and the silver haired girl through the windows. If I had to guess, those two Masters must be working together.

"Hmmm…" I thought, "Interesting…"

I should make a report to my Master at once. I turned around and began to leave the area and I jumped down off the tree to go and return to my Master.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

We had just finished having dinner together, and Yukitsuki-san had already left to go back to her place and go to bed, while we were getting ready to go to bed. It was already becoming a usual routine for us to sleep the way we are now, with me and Minna sleeping together on the same bed while Saber slept on the floor. And at this point, Minna and I were already comfortable with sleeping together on the same bed, not that we weren't about it to begin with.

Well, anyway, while Saber was already fast asleep, me and Minna were holding each other's hands as we slept together, like we always did when we were kids. I looked at Minna as she was already fast asleep and was sleeping soundly and peacefully with a smile on her face, because she was holding onto me knowing that I'm here with her. Seeing her smiled like that made me felt relieved that she was happy, because…well, lately, she was having nightmares, about me leaving her side. When I saw her face when she was having nightmares, she was…scared, scared of me leaving her, and she was crying, crying of me leaving her all alone. I could just remember how she was crying and how she was scared of me leaving her in her nightmares.

" _Yuzu-kun…!"_ I remembered her crying in her sleep, _"Please…don't leave me…! Don't leave me…! Don't leave me alone…! Yuzu-kun…please, don't leave me…! Please…!"_

"Minna…" I said to myself.

Hearing me calling her name made Minna opened her eyes and looked at me, before she said with a questioned look, "Yuzu-kun?"

"Oh, sorry." I said, apologetically, "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to."

Minna smiled at me before she shook her head and said, "Nein, not at all. Actually, it makes me happy when you say my name, Yuzu-kun?"

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Ja." Minna smiled.

"I see." I said, "So, how're you feeling right now? Are any of the nightmares bothering you?"

"Nein." Minna reassured, "I'm okay now. I don't have any nightmares anymore thanks to you, Yuzu-kun." She held my hand tighter and said, "As long as you're here with me, I'm okay, and I'm not afraid anymore."

"I see." I said, "That's good."

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Danke, for always being there for me, to reassure me that it was just a bad dream. I'm happy that you're with me."

"Minna…" I said.

"And…" she added, "Es tut mir leid, dass ich Sie immer gestört habe (I'm sorry that I always bothered you). I've been burdening you all the time, have I?"

I smiled at her before I brought her closer to me to hug her, before I kissed her forehead and then said, "It's alright, Minna. I wouldn't mind it at all, even if you were a bother."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna.

"Besides, I'm here to look after you and keep you safe." I said, "So it's my job to make sure that nothing ever happens to you, and to keep you safe."

"Really?" Minna asked, "Can I believe you?"

I looked a her with a smile and said, "Of course, you can. I promised I'd protect you, after all."

Seeing that I was telling her the truth, Minna smiled back and said as she snuggled closer to me, "Ja, of course. I trust you, Yuzu-kun. And I love you."

I smiled at her before I held her close and said before sleep was starting to take over, "Yeah. Good night, and sweet dreams, Minna."

"Ja." said Minna, as she was beginning to fall asleep with me, "Good night, Yuzu-kun. I love you."

Then, we both fell into a deep sleep, letting ourselves slumber for tomorrow.

* * *

Morning:

Morning had arrived, and as usual, the morning sunlight began shining through our window, shining in front of my eyes and forcing me to wake up and open my eyes. When I opened my eyes, though, I saw that Minna wasn't there in bed with me. I guess she must've woken up first. I got up and looked around a bit to see where she went before I noticed the door at our room was opened, meeting Minna must've gone out of the room. And, judging from the good smell that was coming from outside the room, Minna must be at the kitchen and is making breakfast for us today. I got out of bed and went out of my room to go brush my teeth before I go out to eat breakfast.

As soon as I was done brushing my teeth, I got our of the bathroom and met with Saber, who had just woken up from her sleep, as she was yawning while rubbing her eyes. After adjusting her eyes, she noticed me out of the bathroom, before she gave a small smile and said, "Good morning, Master."

"Good morning." I said, "You just got up and had a good sleep?"

"Indeed." Said Saber, as she stretched her arms up, before she relaxed, "I just woke up after I smelled something good. I suppose Minna is cooking and we'll be having a good breakfast soon."

"Yeah, apparently." I said, "Honestly, I didn't think Minna can cook. Well, I'm gonna go check on Minna and see how's she's doing. See you at the kitchen."

"Yes, see you soon." said Saber, before I got out of the way to let her in, and I went to go to the kitchen to see what Minna was doing.

I walked my way until I got to the kitchen, but I didn't look up to see Minna yet.

"Ah!" I heard Minna said, as if she noticed me, "Good morning, Yuzu-kun!"

"Ah, yeah." I said, as I began to look up, "Good morning, Mi-WHOOOA!"

When I looked up to see Minna, I…I was actually seeing…the biggest surprise of all my life! Minna…she…she was…she was in the kitchen…literally, wearing NOTHING, BUT AN APRON ON!

"Yuzu-kun~!" Minna called me with a happy smile on her face…while her…her…her boobs…HER BOOBS WERE JIGGLING AS SHE MOVES!

Oh, my god! OH, MY GOD! I CAN LITERALLY SEE EVERYTHING! HER SKIN…HER BOOBS…HER LEGS…HER WHOLE BODY…EVERYWHERE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM! MINNA IS LITERALLY NAKED! Even though she had an apron on, SHE WAS STILL LITTERALY NAKED!

Minna approached me, giving me an awfully good view of her large chest as she leaned closer towards me, with hands behind her back, as she smiled at me and said, "Breakfast is ready! Please, come, sit down and eat!"

I immediately looked away so that I wouldn't look at her anywhere around her body, because I didn't want to look at her in a perverted way, while also hiding away my blush from what I was seeing in front of me. God, I can't believe this! I was blushing so much that I was shivering from nervousness.

"Hmm?" said Minna, as she tried to look at me in the face while a kept looking away from her, "What's wrong, Yuzu-kun?"

"A-Ahh, uh…u-umm…uh…n-n-nothing!" I said, nervously, trying to look away further, "Nothing! I-I-It's just…that…I-I, uh…w-well, uh…M-Minna, w-why are…w-what's with what you're wearing?!"

"Oh, this?" said Minna, as she lifted the sides of her apron a bit, before she giggled and answered, "I thought I'd make morning very exciting if I wore this today! Well? Do you like it, Yuzu-kun? Does it make you feel excited? I heard that boys in Japan like these sorts of things."

"H-H-HUH?!" I said, incredulously, "W-W-Wait, what?! M-Minna, W-Where did you-?!"

"Huh?" said Minna, "Is it not true?"

"Uh…w-well, uh…" I said, nervously, "Well, I…I…wouldn't say it's false, but…it's just…"

"It's just what?" Minna asked, as she finally got in front me, again giving me a good view of her large and soft mounds that were covered by her apron.

I yelped a bit before I quickly looked away and said with a nervous smile, "NO! NOTHING! It's…uh…nothing! It's…nothing! It's nothing." I then looked back at her, only this time focusing on her face, as I asked, "But, more importantly, Minna, why would be wearing that in the middle of the morning?"

Minna smiled, before she went passed me to get something. I turned around and saw that she was getting a cup of cold milk, as she poured the milk from the milk carton to a glass cup. Of course, I did what I could not to look at anywhere that's revealing her skin and all, by looking away so that I wouldn't see her naked backside.

As if she knew what I was doing and thinking, she turned to me and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Yuzu-kun, I'm not completely naked under my apron. I have my undergarments on."

"H-Huh?" I said, as I looked at her and I saw that she was telling the truth. She wasn't naked like I thought she was and was actually wearing her white bras and panties, which at least put me at eased a bit, glad that I didn't have to look away anymore so that I don't look like a pervert when I look at her. I overreacted over nothing. It's still a bit troubling, though.

As soon as she was done filling up the glass cup of milk, she picked up the cup of milk before she turned back and went back over to me before handing me a cup of milk, and I took it as she said, "Well, anyway, I've been going to someone for help to get some love advice to get you to notice me a lot more, and to see me more as a lover. In fact, she recommended for me to do this to get you to like me a bit more, because she says boys in Japan loves to see girls in nothing but an apron on."

"O-Oh, uh…r-really?" I said, as I began taking a sip of my glass milk, "Who did?"

Minna smiled and answered, "Matou-sensei!"

WAIT, WHAT?!

Hearing her mentioning Matou-sensei made me literally spurted out my milk that I've been drinking out of my mouth, and out of nowhere, the image of Matou-sensei smiling, and giggling appeared inside my head, making me feel dread and shiver down my spine.

I looked back at Minna and shouted, "What?! Why in the world would you get love advice from Matou-sensei?!"

"Hmm?" said Minna, "It's because I heard from our other classmates that she gives really good advice to everyone at school and that she's very supportive when it come to our personal lives, so I came to her yesterday and asked her for some love advice to get more closer to you, and to get you to notice me more as a love interest for you." She smiled as she added, "Then, Matou-sensei told me that doing this called cosplay would work to get me to entice you, because boys like girls who wear cosplay clothes! And I thought maybe you would like it if I was doing cosplay like this!"

"Wait, what?!" I said, incredulously, "H-Hold on! W-Why in the world would Matou-sensei recommend you to-?"

Suddenly, I thought…wait a minute…! Then, I began to dread as, much to my horror, a realization hit me, as I suddenly began to realize…wait a minute! Matou-sensei…she's not giving her love advice! SHE'S TEACHING HER TO SEDUCE ME!

* * *

Ayako's POV:

I was at school in the school faculty working on some papers, when suddenly, I heard Sakura next to me was giggling, and I looked next to me to see that she was covering her mouth as if she was holding on to her laughter, much to my confusion. What the…?

"What's wrong, Sakura?" I asked.

"N-Nothing." Sakura giggled, while still holding onto her laughter, before she looked away and said still giggling, "I just…I just remembered something."

"Huh?" I said, with a question mark on my head, showing my confusion. What did she remember that was so funny?

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I can NOT believe this! Matou-sensei planned all this from the start! She's telling Minna to do all this cosplay and seduction stuff, just so she could mess with me, and Minna thinks what's she's telling her is a love advice! Crap, I gotta do something about this, and quick! A-Although, she…really DOES look kinda sexy in this out-NO, WAIT, NO! WHAT THE FUCKING AM I THINKING?! I shouldn't be thinking or admiring about Minna's body! I need to figure out how to fix this, like right now!

Minna looked at me with confusion on her face, as she said, "Yuzu-kun, what's wrong?"

"A-A-Ahhh, uh…um…uh…" I nervously said, before I quickly managed to calm myself as I took a deep breath, before I finally managed to say, "Uh…listen, Minna, I…uh…I-I think…that you shouldn't…uh…like get any love advice from Matou-sensei…I-I mean, uh…"

"You don't like it?" Minna asked, with a sad and disappointed look on her face, "You don't like…what I'm doing for you?"

"Uh, no, it's…i-it's not that." I said, "Well, I mean, I admit, I…do kinda like it, but-"

"Then, it's okay." Minna smiled, "I don't mind, as long as you like it. If it makes you happy, then I'm happy. Besides, I like to dress up in lots of outfits if it gets your attention."

"Uh…well, I…I guess, I don't mind, it…does look good on you." I said, "But, uh…Minna, why would you want to get love advice from Matou-sensei just to get closer with me? I mean, sure, we're not lovers, but I mean, we're still close."

"Well, I have my reasons…" said Minna, before she smiled and added, "But, it's a secret, so I can't tell you about it!"

"Heh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, since when were you the type who keeps secret?! And why can't you tell me about it?"

Minna giggled and said in German, "Entschuldigung, ich kann es dir nicht sagen (Sorry, I can't tell you)."

"Eeeeehhh?" I said, before I sighed and hung my head down as just gave up and not ask any further. It's not like Minna can tell me her secret anyway, even if I begged her to. Plus, I'm not a type who'd force her to tell me her secrets. I don't wanna be mean to her doing that.

"But, um…Yuzu-kun," said Minna, getting my attention again, "If you could, for me, I…I want you to notice me a lot more, I want you to see me more and more as a woman, someone who's worth loving as much as she loves you. Because…well, I want you to."

"Minna…" I said, as I felt taken aback by her words for a bit, as I tried to say, "L-Listen, I-"

Minna interrupted by lifting a hand up, signaling me to stop, before she smiled and said, "It's okay, Yuzu-kun, I know. You don't have to tell me now, about how you really feel. And I know that you need some time to think about it. So, don't worry. I'll keep waiting for you until you have your answers for me."

"Minna…" I said, as I took in everything that Minna said for a moment while looking at the beautiful smile that she was making, before I returned that smile with a nod and said to her, "…thank you."

Minna smiled again with a nod back, before she said, "Until then, I'll keep saying that I love you and will keep getting lots of love advice from Matou-sensei, so that I'll get you to notice me more!"

"Huh?" I said, with a look of bewilderment, "Wait, what?"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'll be coming over to Matou-sensei for more love advice so that I can get you to notice me and like me a lot more! Her advice was very helpful and I wanna keep getting advice from her until you come to fall in love with me! And, I'll be doing lots of more dressing up in cosplays to get you to like them and be excited every single day!"

"Wait, what?!" I said, shocked, "W-W-Wait, e-every…day?! Y-You mean, like…like…daily?!"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'll dress up in lots of cosplay clothes, on a daily basis!"

Suddenly, I began to dread, as realization had quickly hit me, as I realized that…that…Minna will…Minna will be…she'll be doing something like this to me EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! JUST TO GET ME TO FALL! MINNA WILL LITERALLY BE LIKE MATOU-SENSEI! Just realizing it…made me have another erotic illusion about Minna.

In my fantasies, I could see her in the morning at the kitchen, and this time, she was completely naked, wearing nothing but an apron, as she came closer to me in the most seductive way as she said to me seductively in a half whisper, exactly the same way as Matou-sensei was doing to me, _"Good morning, Yu~zu~kun~"_ She then leaned herself towards me, showing me her chest that was nearly almost showing all of her breasts completely, before she said seductively in a half whisper, _"What would you like for this morning, Yuzu-kun~? Would you like to have some breakfast to eat~? Or do you need to take a bath~? Or perhaps…do~ you~ want~ to~ eat~ me~?"_

I began to blush in complete dark red from that thought…as I began to see it all already! Oh, my GOD! I'M GOING TO BE HAVING THIS EVERY DAY?! WITH MINNA, MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND?! I'M GONNA BE SEDUCED BY MINNA EVERY DAY LIKE THIS?!

* * *

Outside of the apartment complex:

People were walking on the sidewalks, passing by each other and the apartment building that was next to them, just as usual. Some were old people walking by from shopping stores, others where teens hanging out, while few were business men and women.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, there was a very, very loud scream that was from the apartment complex, making people completely startled and yelped as they all turned their attention towards the apartment where the screaming was coming from, now confused as to what was going on at the apartment this time. The scream was becoming so loud that even the whole neighborhood was hearing it, as they opened their windows to look outside at the apartment complex, with most of them having looks of concern, some were scared, while few were annoyed. The screaming lasted for a long time until it began to die down and stop. Literally.

* * *

Normal POV:

First period of class had already ended, and everyone in class began to leave for lunch. Throughout the day, ever since the morning, Yuzuru Shindou had been sitting at his desk looking completely lifeless, as his eyes showed no signs of life, he was almost completely motionless, soundless, and with his mouth slightly agape. Overall, he was completely dead as he had already died inside. Even now, he looked completely dead as he just sat at his desk while just standing there looking at his lunch, which was a bento box filled with food that Minna made inside, without even touching it or eating it.

Ryouya was looking at him while eating his sandwich before he swallowed and said a slack grin, "Jeez, dude, what's up with you? Lunch has already started, and you look like you just had a bad meal."

"Yeah." said Hiiragi, who joined them from the other class, "Did somethin' happen to ya this morning, Yuzzuchi?"

"Nothing happened…" said Yuzuru, monotonically.

"Oh, dear." said Yukitsuki, worriedly, "Maybe you had a terrible dream last night and you couldn't sleep well, Shindou-kun?"

"Nothing happened…" said Yuzuru, monotonically.

"Oh, dear…" said Yukitsuki, "I wonder what happened to him that got him to be like this?"

"Maybe he had a crazy morning." said Hiiragi.

"Yeah, probably." said Ryouya.

Yukitsuki turned to Saber, who was sitting a bit far from them, and asked her, "Hey, Elaina-san, do you know what happened to Yuzuru this morning that he became this way?"

Saber, who was apparently eating lots of rice balls that she ordered from the cafeteria, turned around from her desk while having a rice ball stuffed in her mouth with an unamused look in her eyes, as actually, she does know what had happened, because since she's connected to him through their pact, she could already feel what he was thinking and feeling, which sadly was starting to almost make her feel like she was about to regret being in a pact with a pathetic Master that Yuzuru was being. _Almost_ , mind you. Saber internally sighed, before she turned away and swallowed her rice ball in her mouth, before she answered, "I…do not believe that it is something you want to know."

"Huh?" said Ryouya, confused.

"Hmm?" said Yukitsuki, confused.

"What?" said Hiiragi, confused, "Why?"

Saber ignored them and continued on eating her rice balls, before taking a glance back at Yuzuru, who was still internally dead, and she sighed to herself and thought, "Dammit, Yuzuru…"

Minna, who had been sitting next to Yuzuru, happily brought out a pair of chopsticks before she used it to pick up a piece of food from the bento box and brought it close to Yuzuru, before she said to him with a smile, "Yuzu-kun, you need to finish eating lunch. Here, I'll feed you. Say 'ahh'."

Without even trying or looking, Yuzuru monotonically opened his mouth and said monotonically, "Ahh…"

Once Minna placed food in his mouth, he slowly and monotonically chewed on his food before swallowing it.

"Well, Yuzu-kun?" Minna smiled, "Was it good?"

"Yeah…" said Yuzuru, monotonically, "Very good…"

"Teehee~" Minna giggled, "I'm glad!"

Ryouya, Yukitsuki, and Hiiragi looked at the two with sweat marks on their heads, as the atmosphere around them was starting to feel really awkward to them.

"Yeeeeeaaah…" Hiiragi began slowly.

"This…kinda feels…" said Ryouya.

"Really…awkward." Yukitsuki finished.

"Hey, Yuzuru!" someone called, making everyone in the classroom, except for Yuzuru, to turn around at the door to see that, much to everyone's surprise, it was Sayaka Tsukuda and Aimi Shimizu from the student council who were at the door. Sayaka had a stern look on her face with both her hands on her hips while Aimi was smiling as she was standing as an elegant maid.

Everyone in class were surprised to see the two as they began murmuring to each other why or what they were there doing here and why they were calling to Yuzuru of all people. Even Minna, Ryouya and the others were surprised and confused as to why they were here and why they were calling to Yuzuru as they turned to look at the one who they were calling to, who still looked dead and unresponsive.

"U-Umm…Kurosawa-san?" Minna whispered, "Who're those two?"

"Oh, those two are Sayaka Tsukuda and Aimi Shimizu, from the student council." Ryouya whispered, "The blonde one with pigtails is Sayaka while the other dressed as a maid is Aimi."

"Ohhh." Minna whispered, "B-But, why're they calling to Yuzu-kun? What do they want with him?"

"Beats me." Ryouya whispered.

Minna and the rest suddenly noticed that Sayaka and Aimi had already approached to where they were and were looking at Yuzuru who still remained unresponsive with an expression that remained to look dead.

Sayaka crossed her arms with a huff before she said to him, "Yuzuru! Hey, Yuzuru!" No response from him. "Hey, wake up!" Still no response from him. "Hey, wake up already, you stupid idiot!" Again, still no response.

"Uh…Sayaka?" said Aimi, with a sweatdrop on her head, "I…don't believe he's responding."

"Yeah, I noticed." said Sayaka, as she kept looking at Yuzuru, who still didn't respond to anything or anyone, while ignoring everyone looking at them. Sayaka kept on looking at him, waiting for him to at least respond to her now, all while slowly and surely making an angry face, as she was starting to get really angry at him, before she finally snapped, and then angrily grabbed Yuzuru by the back of the head and shouted out loud angrily, "WAKE UUUUUPPP!"

With full force, she angrily pushed Yuzuru down, slamming his face on the bento box that was on the table extremely hard that it no doubt hurts a lot, much to everyone's shock and sudden fear of that sudden slam that she did to Yuzuru, while some of them winching at how that might hurt. Even Minna and the others were shocked by this while worried about Yuzuru's well-being from the sudden slam on the table, while Saber had a stunned look on her face.

Finally, though, Yuzuru was finally responding by screaming on the table while trashing around as he tried to struggle for air from the apparent suffocation that he was having from his face on the bento box. As soon as he was finally responding, Sayaka let of him to finally lift himself up to finally breathe for air, life finally returning to him and his eyes, before he then shouted out loud, "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!"

"Holy crap!" said Hiiragi, surprised, "He's back!"

"Well, that was quick!" said Ryouya.

"W-Well, welcome back, Shindou-kun." Yukitsuki managed to smile.

"Yuzu-kun, are you okay?!" said Minna, worriedly.

Yuzuru began to breathe quickly to get some air back into his lungs, before he shouted, "Okay, who the hell did that?!"

Saber pointed the one who was right next to him, making Yuzuru turned around to where Sayaka was with her arms crossed again. Seeing that it was Sayaka who was the one responsible for what she did to him, Yuzuru got up from his seat to turn around to face her, before he yelled angrily, "WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?! WHY'D THE FUCK YOU DO THAT FOR?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME OR SOMETHING?!"

"OH, SHUT YOUR FACE, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka yelled back, "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOUR FUCKING ATTENTION SINCE I GOT HERE, AND HERE YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING STANDING THERE LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT IN A FUCKING DAZE! AT LEAST ANSWER WHEN I CALL YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

"ME?!" Yuzuru yelled, "I JUST HAD A FUCKING CRAZY MORNING THAT I HAD A FUCKING MENTAL SHUT DOWN TODAY, AND YOU JUST FUCKING HIT ME ON THE TABLE WITH MY LUNCH! AT LEAST SHOW SOME SYMPATHY TO ME AND JUST GIVE ME SOME FUCKING TIME TO RECOVER MY FUCKING MENTAL BREAK DOWN THAT I HAD!"

"LIKE HELL I'M GONNA DO THAT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka yelled, "I DON'T HAVE ANY FUCKING PATIENCE FOR WHATEVER THE HELL KIND OF FUCKED UP BULLSHIT THAT YOU WENT THROUGH! WHEN I CALL YOU, YOU BETTER ANSWER BACK! YOU'RE MY GOOD LUCK CHARM!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Yuzuru yelled, "THIS AGAIN?! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOMAN, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TREATING ME LIKE I'M AN OBJECT?!"

While Yuzuru and Sayaka were arguing with each other, Minna and the others watched them as they conversed back and forth to Yuzuru and Sayaka as they argued with each other. It felt somewhat awkward as they felt like they needed to intervene to stop them from fighting, while at the same time they didn't want to because it was kind of entertaining. As hinted wit Ryouya as he couldn't help but smile as he was enjoying what he was seeing, while the girls looked at them with worried looks.

"Oh, please, do not mind them." Aimi smiled, reassuring them, "This is how these two would interact with each other."

"O-Oh." said Yukitsuki, "I-Is that so?"

"Oh, yes." Aimi smiled, "These two had just became friends recently, so it's natural for them to interact with each other this way. They may not look as such, but they get along quite well."

"LIKE HELL WE DO!/WE DO NOT!" both Sayaka and Yuzuru yelled before going back to arguing with each other.

"I-I see." said Yukitsuki, with a sweatdrop.

"Well, in hindsight, at least seeing these two like that is entertaining." said Ryouya.

"Yeah!" Hiiragi smiled.

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "Yuzu-kun has such amazing friends with him!"

Saber chuckled and said, "I'm…not sure if "amazing" is the correct word. But yes, indeed, he does have friends with good hearts, even if they don't show it quite often."

"YEAH, WELL, AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH WHATEVER THE CRAPS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOUR SHITTY LUCK!" Yuzuru yelled, "THE ONLY REASON I DO IS BECAUSE YOU KEEP DRAGGING ME INTO ALL YOUR SHIT!"

"OH, YEAH?!" Sayaka yelled, "WELL, I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ALL DAY DOING NOTHING BUT BEING A SORE LOSER OR BEING A COMPLETE IDIOT IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY LIKE YOU DO EVERY DAY! THE ONLY REASON I DRAG INTO SHIT IS BECAUSE I FUCKING NEED YOU AROUND AND HELP ME DEAL WITH SOME DIRTY WORK I HAVE! PLUS, I DON'T WANNA WASTE ALL FUCKING DAY SEEING YOU SPENDING ALL YOUR GODDAMN TIME WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, DAMMIT, SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Yuzuru yelled, before realizing what he said and turned to Minna before saying with an apologetic smile, "Uh…sorry, Minna, n-no offense, really."

"Ah, nein." Minna smiled, "I don't mind."

"Ah, good." said Yuzuru, feeling relieved, before he went back to Sayaka and yelled again, "B-BUT ANYWAYS, WHAT I DO ALL DAY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'D UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOOK AFTER SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT ALL YOUR LIFE!"

"OH, WHATEVER!" Sayaka yelled, before calming down a bit and shouted, "Look, you stupid idiot, that's not important right now! What's important right now is we need you in the student council's office!"

"W-Wait, now?!" said Yuzuru.

"Yes!" Sayaka shouted, "As in, RIGHT! NOW!"

"W-Wait, hold on!" said Yuzuru, "I'm in a middle of having lunch right now, and second period's gonna start soon once I'm done! Can't I-OOWWW!"

Sayaka grabbed and pulled Yuzuru by the ear and shouted, "You can DO that ANOTHER time! We have business to take care of, and we need your ass in our office, RIGHT NOW! C'MON!"

"O-OOWWW!" Yuzuru screamed, while being dragged by Sayaka out of the classroom, "OW! OW! OW! H-HEY! OW! S-STOP PULLING ME-OOWWW!"

Everyone in the classroom watches on as Yuzuru gets dragged out of the classroom by Sayaka in the ears until they were no longer seen. Aimi turned to Minna and said with a smile, "Ah, please, pardon Sayaka, Everhart-dono, she's a bit an impatient type. I apologize on the student council's behalf. We shall be borrowing Shindou-sama for a while. Please, rest assured that it'll only take a moment until he returns."

"Oh, ja." Minna smiled, "Okay."

"Thank you." Aimi bowed, before turning to the others and said, "Would you kindly please inform to your teacher that Shindou-sama will be missing the next class after lunch for us?"

"O-Oh, uh…sure." said Yukitsuki-san, "We'll let Matou-sensei know."

"Thank you." Aimi smiled, "Now then, please excuse me."

Aimi bowed to them before she turned around and walked out of the classroom and left to go back to the student council's office. Everyone looked at the door where they had left for a bit until they went back to what they were doing.

Hiiragi tilted her head in confusing and said, "Shindou-sama? Is Yuzzuchi a famous guy that he has a maid or something?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so." said Yukitsuki, "If I recall, Aimi Shimizu is the personal maid of President Tohsaka. I think that's just her way of calling him that, though I honestly don't know why."

"Ahh." said Hiiragi.

"I wonder what the student council needs him for?" Minna wondered, "And I wonder if Yuzu-kun will be okay?"

Saber got up from her seat with her rice balls carried in her arms before she said, "I'll go and check up on him and make sure that he's fine."

"Elaina?" said Minna.

Saber smiled at Minna in reassurance and said, "Please, do not worry, Minna. I'll make sure to watch over him for you. Yuzuru is also my friend, after all."

"I see." said Minna, before she smiled and said, "Danke, Elaina!"

Saber nodded with a smile before she went off and left the classroom to go and find Yuzuru.

Once Saber was already gone, Ryouya looked at the door where Yuzuru had left before she did, before a small smile was made as he got up from his seat and said, "I'm gonna go somewhere a bit. There's something that I gotta do, so I won't be in class today, either."

"W-Wait, what?!" said Yukitsuki, confused, "Wait, where're you going?!"

"Sorry, gotta go!" Ryouya smiled and waved, before he went out the door and said before leaving, "See ya!"

"Hey, don't you ditch class when it'll start soon!" Yukitsuki shouted, but he was already gone from sight, "HEY!"

"Ah, crap, look at the time!" said Hiiragi, who was looking at her watch before she got up and said as she began to leave, "Sorry, gotta get back to my class! See ya!"

"W-Wait, Hiiragi?!" Yukitsuki shouted, but like Ryouya, Hiiragi was gone from her sight.

Minna merely stayed in her seat with a happy smile on her face, while Yukitsuki had an incredulous look on her face from everybody leaving, as she thought to herself, "Okay. What the hell just happened?"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was being dragged by Sayaka who was grabbing me by my ears and was pulling them, which hurt like hell, and kept on dragging me until we were finally at the student council's office, and I was dragged inside before Sayaka let me go, letting me rub on my ears from the pain. Damn, jeez, it hurts!

"Was that REALLY necessary?!" I shouted.

"Oh, shut your face!" she shouted back, "Look, we have business to attend to now, and it's about the Master of Archer!"

"Huh?" I said, "Wait, Archer's Master?"

"Correct." said Aimi, as she came inside the room with Saber, who was still eating rice balls, right behind her, "We believe we've found the people who were associated with Manami Asakura before her mysterious disappearance at the daycare center."

"People associated with Manami Asakura?" I said, before I guessed, "You mean the guys from the Holy Church from France?"

"That's correct." I heard Mirai-senpai spoke up from her desk, and I turned to face her as she turned around with her chair she was sitting on before she said, "I've had Assassin out scouting for the people who may know what had happened with Asakura, and he found these men that appears to be wearing outfits that relates to the Holy Church." She turned to Ishikawa-san and nodded to her, "Hiroko."

"Of course." Ishikawa-san nodded, before she brought out a remote and pressed the button, which activated and brought down a projector screen that was coming down from the ceiling until it was fully down, showing a large white screen.

She then turned off the lights before activated a projector which also connected to the ceiling, as well as to Mirai-senpai's computer that was on the table. Once on, the projector began projecting a loading screen to the projector screen, before it finally showed something. It was an image of an older French man that was around his middle age, somewhere around his 40s, with his hair completely white and his eyes were grayish-blue, and was dressed as a priest with a black cassock under the black vestments and a white cross around his neck.

"This man that you see here on the screen is a French priest named Albert Aldric François Janvier." said Mirai-senpai, "He was a Frenchman born and raised in France until he was taken in by the Holy Church resided in France, where he had learned and studied the ways of the Holy Church and the methods of execution and holy exorcism, becoming a member of the Burial Agency at a highly decorative young age."

"So, he's a veteran." I said.

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "Priest Albert had also apparently been Manami Asakura's former guardian when they took her in to the orphanage, hence he became one of the members of the Holy Church to join her to participate in the Holy Grail War to work together."

"I see." I said.

"Then perhaps he may know what happened to Manami Asakura and why she had disappeared." said Saber, before she continued eating.

"That's what we hope to believe, though we cannot be certain for sure whether he does so or not." said Mirai-senpai, "Caren had been looking up to what she could find about him, and…well, there appears to be something that seems to bother her about him."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Priest Albert," said Mirai-senpai, "Is said to have some sort of dark secret, and there rumors about the members' suspicions about him that's been going on in France for quite a long time. Not sure what it is entirely, but it's to believe that it's something about his desire for something that makes him want to take control over all."

"Wait, are you saying that this Albert has some sort of twisted desire for power?" I asked.

"Most likely." said Mirai-senpai, "Albert had been studying in the Holy Church for something that may had led him to some interest, according to the members of the Church in France, most of it was about gaining and obtaining whatever it is he could be looking for that relates to the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, he-"

"Let me guess," I interrupted a bit, "He got smarter and wondered how he would be able to obtain something that he wants."

"Precisely," said Mirai-senpai, "And so much so that it was rumored that most of the higher-ups from the Holy Church had lost control of him, his lust and desire growing stronger. But whatever it is that he desires, even I don't know myself. I can only assume that it is power, as you said, but other than that, it's uncertain."

"I see." I said, "Well, why not just use your Mystic Eyes to look into his past? Maybe you might learn something and figure out what it is that he wants."

"If I could, yes." said Mirai-senpai, "However, anything that I see in the past through my Mystic Eyes are mostly vague images and aren't very specific. So, unless I find the specific person or object related to the events of the past, I cannot look into anywhere further to find anything."

"I see." I said, "So then, you plan on going to this Albert guy and use your Mystic Eyes to look into his past and see what you could find."

"That's the plan." said Mirai-senpai.

"Okay, so, where is he right now?" I asked.

Mirai-senpai turned to Ishikawa-san and said, "Hiroko?"

Ishikawa-san nodded before she pressed the button on the remote, changing the screen to show the map of Fuyuki City in it's entirety, before it began showing an area where there was another church that resided nearly at the outskirts of Shinto Town that was next to a building that looked to be a place for foreigners to stay at. It was somewhat of an old building, but at the same time, it looked brand new.

"This building here used to be a place that belonged to an advisor from another country back then." Hiroko explained, "However, the place had been placed as a reserved building for visitors of other countries to go to for relaxation or even partying, mostly for people who're in dirty businesses nowadays. If this building here is a place where foreigners would go to, then Priest Albert along with the other members of the Holy Church will most likely be there as a place for their base of operation."

"I see." I said, "So then, what do we do?"

"Well, for one, we can't just go in there without a plan." said Sayaka, "If anybody in the Holy Grail War already knew that they're there at that building, they'd be wise enough to not go in there without some sort of plan to go in and strike. Albert is a veteran of the Burial Agency of the Holy Church, so he's no amateur when it comes to dealing with his opponents. And those other members who're with him, are probably just as skilled professionals as he is, so even if it's easy to go in there and attack them at night, even they'd know that well enough, so they'll be keeping their guards up and will most likely easily take out anyone who tries to barge in and try to attack them, even in their sleep."

"The members of the Holy Church fights with conceptual weapons called the Black Keys, sacraments of the Church and one of their many charms used against demons and vampires." said Aimi, "As Keys of Providence, they are able to call forth the original laws of nature vampires were subject to as humans, thus preventing them through purification, from healing the wounds made with this weapon. Emphasized on the ability to intervene spiritually against "evil", they focus less on physical attack power, even affecting powerful spirits like Servants to some degree should they be struck. It is not enough to inflict any sort of fatal injury to them no matter how much energy is put into them, but they can be used to distract or pin them for a brief moment under the right circumstances."

"What do they look like?" I asked.

"They take the form of long and slender rapier-like swords with blades measuring over one meter and extremely short hilts, looking more likely to be used to thrust than slash at the opponent." Aimi explained, "Although there had been cases where they can be capable of slashing. Weighing one kilo, they are too thick and oddly-balanced, feeling heavier towards the tip, to use as melee weapons in general, and they seem more like Dirks made into swords or arrows even to someone who does not know of their true nature. With low effectiveness as swords despite their appearance, and their great length, their true usage is exclusively as throwing weapons likened to bullets rather than for swordplay. Despite being a basic weapon of the Church, they are mostly considered to be a symbolic weapon for Executors that not many favor due to the difficulty in learning how to handle them and their weak attack power. Being half-spiritual, they can naturally pierce even iron."

"I see." I said, "And, since they're from the Burial Agency, they'll be using those Keys to fight in combat."

"Correct." said Aimi.

"So, then what's the other?" I asked.

"Archer." said Ishikawa-san, "As we know by now, Atalanta, the Servant intended to be summoned, was not summoned into this Holy Grail War as an Archer-Class Servant, but rather someone else was summoned as an Archer. However, as of now, we have no idea who this Archer is and what that Servant is capable of. This Archer could be dangerous, and we don't know how we'll be able to take that Servant down, if we can try to."

"I see." I said, "Yeah, I can see how that could be a problem."

"Indeed." said Saber, after she swallowed her rice ball, "If we're going up against a Servant like Archer, we will need to know what the true identity of that Servant is first and figure out what we're up against, as well as finding out Archer's weakness, if that Servant even has one." She then went for another rice ball and continued eating.

"Yup." said Sayaka, "And then there's you, Mr. Novice of a Master."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, me? What about me?"

"Well, who else is there, you stupid idiot?!" Sayaka yelled, "You don't know any form of Magecraft that will help give us the advantage to fight against our opponents for our next fight in the Holy Grail War! You're basically dead weight! What else is there that's the problem?!"

"O-Ohh!" I said, as I realized what she meant, "Ah, yeah…that…that is bad. Yeah, you're right. I really don't know any form of magic-uh, no Magecraft-that I wish I can use. If I did, then I would've been able to help. I really need to start learning how to use Magecraft now, otherwise, I'll just slow you guys down."

"Which is why we have a plan to help train you in learning Magecraft." said Mirai-senpai, "My companions and I will be taking turns in training you and teaching you how to use Magecraft to better prepare you to be a better mage just as we are. While normally it'll take about many years to come for one to become a powerful full-fledged mage, such as the case with myself and my companions, I can guarantee…that YOU will be able to become a powerful mage within one month." Mirai-senpai gave out a smirk as she brought out a finger and said, "One short month."

Just looking at Mirai-senpai as she gave out a confident smile as she said that, I couldn't help but look at her with a surprised look on my face, as I was surprised from what she just said. Me? Becoming a full-fledged mage? And in just a month?! I-Is she serious?!

"W-W-Wait, hold on!" I said, "A-Are you…really sure about that?! Me, learning about Magecraft in a month?! Is that even possible?! I mean, how can you be so sure?!"

Mirai-senpai looked at me for a bit, before she began laughing as if she saw how uncertain I was being, before she said after calming down a bit, "Boy, please, you're talking to a woman who can foresee anything in the future! How else do you believe I'm certain that you'll succeed to become a mage?!"

"O-Oh, yeah." I said, "I mean, I…I guess, you got a good point. But still, how're we gonna do that with the time we have while the other Masters and Servants are out and about? Even if I did manage to complete my training on Magecraft, can we even manage on our own and defeat them all without a sweat? I mean, hell, what if they start attacking us before I'm even ready?"

"They won't." said Mirai-senpai, "Because we've already prepared for that to prevent them from attacking us. We've been using our Bounded Field to prevent the enemy other Masters and Servants from disrupting and attacking us."

"Uh…bounded what now?" I said, confused, "What's that?"

"A topographic type of Magecraft that consists in knitting a network of magical energy and spreading it on base area, such as a piece of land or a building, to create a mystic boundary line that separates the inside from the outside." Aimi explained, "Basically, it is what you would refer as a force field. By definition, it should not be possible to move them once they are set."

"Ohh." I said, now understanding, "I see."

"Once constructed, the established boundary line will delimit the range of the powers of the Bounded Field, but it is possible to engrave magic sigils across the interior of the field to expand the area of effect and strengthen it." Aimi explained, "Removal of the sigil by a third party is possible as long as the technique used to engrave it isn't too advanced. In this case, it is only possible to temporary hinder the Bounded Field by dissipating the magical energy used to activate it, but the creator of the Bounded Field can amend this by simply putting more magical energy back into it, and new sigils are constructed by the actions of the old ones, making the Bounded Field capable of self-repair with due time. As their original purpose was for the creation of safe havens, the effects that can be set within a Bounded Field are in their majority those whose aim is to protect the caster. Offensive variants do exist, but as they work through indirect magical interference their efficiency against those who can protect themselves magically is low. Advanced Bounded Fields work on a subconscious level to prevent onlookers from noticing it, but placing those on a large area increase the chances of being detected by a trained magus. An ideal Bounded Field is one that cannot be detected by anybody. On the other hand, a Bounded Field that can be easily noticed is seen as the mark of a third-rate magus."

"I see." I said, "So, you intend to make a Bounded Field to protect us so no one can bother us."

"Precisely," said Mirai-senpai, "Well, to tell you the truth, actually, we had already placed a Bounded Field barrier around your place to keep you covered while we were watching over you and Minna."

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, what?! Really?! Since when? I didn't notice you or anything?"

"Well, you do know that Masters and Servants cannot attack you in the middle of the day and can only attack you at night, correct?" Mirai-senpai asked, and I nodded, "Well, during the night time, have you ever noticed that there were no enemy Masters or Servants coming in to attack you and Saber, or even try to kidnap Minna, whether you were asleep or not?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused, before I thought about it for a moment. Huh. Actually, now that she mentioned it…I didn't see anybody that were coming in on us while we were out at night.

"Yeah." I said, "You're right, now that you mention it. I didn't see either Caster or Berserker coming to our place to attack us at all. It…actually felt fine."

"Indeed." said Saber, after she swallowed another one of her rice balls, "Even I didn't sense any signs of their presences or hostilities while I was asleep. It's as if…they never noticed us at all."

"That's because it is the result of our Bounded Field that we created around your area to shield you." said Mirai-senpai, "Our Bounded Field not only creates a barrier to guard and protect you from all harm, but it also conceals both you and Saber from the outside, as well as conceals your presences from others so that no one will be able to detect nor sense you. You could say that in a sense, you are invisible to the other Masters and Servants, as long as you remain around and inside your area. Even if they were to see your building, they won't be able to see nor detect you."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Man, I didn't know that you were capable of doing that."

"That is the result of our skills as first-rate mages." Mirai-senpai smirked at that, "Naturally, only myself and my companions are able to disable that Bounded Field from the inside of the barrier, so no Master nor mage will be able to break down the Bounded Field on their own. So, naturally, you're safe and in good hands as long as the barrier is on around your place."

"I see." I said, "Well, thanks for letting me know that. And, thanks for keeping us safe with that barrier, Mirai-senpai."

"You have no need to thank me." said Mirai-senpai, "We're on the same team together, so it's only natural for us to be working together to keeping each other safe from the other enemy Masters and Servants. And besides, we did promise to provide and guarantee protection for your friends and Minna from the dangers in the Holy Grail War."

"Right." I said.

"Now then," said Mirai-senpai, "Now that that's settled, we'll be scheduling you to be training with each one of us per week, starting next week, so I expect that you'd be prepared for that to come. We'll each be taking turns training you per week on a weekly bases. As we do so, this will help you get to know and understand each and every one of us and how well you'll be able to handle well working with us, so please keep that in mind. I expect that you'll get along with all of us by the time your training is done."

"Got it." I nodded, "I'll try my best. So, then…who am I gonna start with?"

Mirai-senpai smirked at me from what I asked before she pointed her finger at something, making me turn to where she was pointing at, and it was…Sayaka. Wait…what? I was completely confused about this for a moment, as I looked at Sayaka, then Mirai-senpai, then back to Sayaka, then back to Mirai-senpai again, before I looked back at Sayaka, still confused. But then, realization began to hit me, as I began to widen my eyes in shock. Wait…me and Sayaka…no, wait…she couldn't mean…then, I'll…eh? Ehh?! As soon as the realization hit me, I turned back to Mirai-senpai, who was giving out an amused smile, with a shocked and incredulous look on my face while pointing at Sayaka, before I screamed out loud, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH?!"

I could NOT believe this! There was just no WAAAAAYYY!

* * *

Normal POV:

At the rooftop of the school building, a mysterious figure stood leaning against the wall with arms crossed where the shadow cast to a shade. The figure that was hiding within the shade was a woman that held a long blood-red spear. The woman was an extremely beautiful woman who has long purple hair that was casting shadow to cover her eyes and was wearing a lighten full-body suit colored in black and purple that highlights her curvaceous body, with metallic purple shoulder pads. This woman was the Lancer-Class Servant, who was waiting patiently for her Master to arrive with new information.

Lancer, hearing the sound of the door to the roof opened, she turned around to see a shadow of another figure, a male figure, that was approaching closer to her, before the figure stopped around the corner and began turning around to lean his back against the wall with hands in both his pockets.

Seeing that the figure arrived, she looked away before she said to him without even looking at him, "You're late, my Master."

The male figure, who was the Master of Lancer, calmly chuckled before he lazily said, "Sorry. Had to make an excuse to leave the class before coming over here. You should know how school life should be, given that you have knowledge of the modern world."

"Hmph, I suppose." said Lancer, "So then, what did you seem to find?"

"Tohsaka's little lackeys dragging Saber's Master to their student council's office." said the Master of Lancer, "It seems that apparently both Master of Saber and Assassin are working together now. I suppose it's no surprise since Saber's Master is pretty new to the whole mage world thing, and they're gonna need to shape him up as they can."

"I see." said Lancer, "Anything else that you found?"

"Well, it looks like Caster and his Master are out in hiding after what happened in their fight against Saber's Master, Tohsaka's companions and her Assassin." said the Master of Lancer, "If I had to guess, they're probably planning on something big sooner or later, and it's probably not gonna be pretty."

"Heh." Lancer smirked, "So it would seem. So, who do you believe Caster's Master is, my Master?"

"Dunno." said the Master of Lancer, lazily, "Though, if I had to guess, I'd say it's that psycho bitch who calls herself to be "Killer Clown", who's apparently been on the news of murders that's running around in Fuyuki lately. Who this "Killer Clown" is, even I don't know the identity myself."

"I see." said Lancer, "Anything else that seems worth to report?"

"Well," said the Lancer of Master, as he began smiling, "Let's just say that I think the Servant Rider and the Master of Rider might show up in the Grail War a lot sooner than we believe to be."

"Oh?" said Lancer, now curious, "And why is that?"

"Well, believe it or not, Lancer, I DID kinda felt like there someone out there that was watching us from afar while I was hanging out with my friends." said the Master of Lancer, It was…faint, to say the least, but I could tell that the presence of that gaze was not entirely human. I couldn't see who it was, but I could tell that it was there, invisible to the naked eyes."

"Oh?" said Lancer, intrigued, "Was it the Rider-Class Servant?"

"Dunno." said the Master of Lancer, "It'd already got away the moment I I tried to look out to see who it was outside that was watching. Probably got away as soon as it saw that I was noticing it."

"I see." said Lancer.

"Although," the Master of Lancer added, "It didn't seem all that hostile. It was…friendly."

"Is that right?" said Lancer, "Well then, if it is Rider that was watching without hostility, then I suppose that would mean that Rider is less of a threat. For now, at the very least."

"Yeah, sure looks that way." said the Master of Lancer, lazily.

"Well then, Master," said Lancer, "Shall we go and find out who the Master of Rider is and see what the identity of the Rider-Class Servant is? I'm quite curious as to who it might be myself."

The Master of Lancer chuckled and said, "I think it's better that we don't, Lancer. I think I'd like to see how this plays out and take things a little slow and let the truth reveal itself, rather than spoiling everything and leave all the fun and excitement." He turned his head to Lancer and said to her, "Besides, we were instructed by the priestess to not reveal ourselves in the Holy Grail War and were given a role of being the eyes and ears for the overseer of the Grail War, so it's our job to make sure that everything in the Grail War runs as smoothly as possible without the public knowing, and without needing to reveal ourselves out in the open, so we can't just blow our cover and let everyone know about us. We need to be kept discreet, and we need everyone here not to know about us, so you should stay hidden from everybody else and not go show yourself around, Lancer."

Hearing what her Master just reminded her made Lancer sighed at that, for as she hated the idea of staying hidden and the idea of discretion, she knew her Master had a point and couldn't argue about it, even if she wanted to. Not that she intended to anyway. Plus, she knew that if she did, she would only spoil things and ruin the fun in the Grail War. And, much like her Master, she does want to see how this Holy Grail War plays out. Lancer sighed again, but this time with a small smile, before she lifted her head to reveal her crimson red eyes, as she turned to her Master and said, "Very well then, I shall do as you say and shall remain discreet for the time being, and I shall remain in the shadows to watch how he Grail War turns out. And, just as you expect me to do so, I expect that you shall do the same, Master…no, Ryouya Kurosawa."

The Master of Lancer, now revealed to be Ryouya Kurosawa, smirked at his Servant before he got off the wall and began slowly leaving, as he said with confidence, "Oh, don't you worry, Lancer. I don't plan to anytime soon. Not yet."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	13. Chapter 7

**I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, o** **ther than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Today was the middle of the weekend, and I was at work in Ahnenerbe doing all the preparations for the place to get started by working on setting out the dishes for Hibino-senpai to place whatever order meals that were on the menu for today as Hibino-senpai was at the kitchen doing all the cooking while Katsuragi-senpai was cleaning and setting up the tables. Although, I've kinda been mostly spacing out a lot since…well, since what happened yesterday with my meeting with Mirai-senpai and her friends. I just couldn't believe it at all.

* * *

Yesterday:

"WHY SAYAKA?!" I shouted, incredulously, "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT ME WITH HER?!"

"Because I say and scheduled for you so." said Mirai-senpai, "Besides, me, Hiroko and Aimi will be out scouting for any and all information on other Masters and Servants here in the Grail War."

"But WHY would you PAIR ME with SAYAKA?!" I shouted, "WHY NOT JUST PUT ME UP WITH ISHIKAWA-SAN OR AIMI?! OF ALL YOUR FRIENDS, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT ME UP WITH SAYAKA?!"

"Oh, why it's because I say so, as the leader of this small group of ours." said Mirai-senpai, as she gave out a teasing smile, "Plus, I wish to see how you two would handle each other well for my own amusement. Seeing as how you two interact with one another, I can already tell that you two will have a great chemistry together as partners."

"WHAT?!" I shouted, incredulously, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN US INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AT ALL?! HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN HOW SHE TREATS ME?! THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT I'LL BE ABLE TO MANAGE TO GET USED TO HANGGING OUT WITH SAYAKA! LIKE HELL I'M GONNA JUST GO ALONG WITH IT AND TRAIN WITH THIS BITCH AND HANG OUT WITH HER FOR A WHOLE WEEK JUST SO I CAN BE TOYED WITH BY HER AND FOR YOUR OWN ENTERTAINMENT!"

Sayaka came up to me and smacked me behind the head before she crossed her arms and said with a stern look on her face, "Look, buddy, you think I like the idea of us hanging out together?! I don't, not any better than you do either! But if we're gonna get you tough and strong for you to be able to handle yourself into whatever fight may come, then we're gonna have to work together on this one, and that means we'll have to put up with whatever shit we may give to each other! And that means you'll have to put up with whatever I have just as I'll have to put up your idiocy, got that?!"

"Ah, geez!" I said, while rubbing the back of my head, "Are you serious?!"

"Dead serious!" said Sayaka, with her arms crossed.

Hearing that and seeing the serious look she was making, I brought my head down and sighed as I just gave up on saying anymore, before I reluctantly said, "Fine…I'll do this…"

Saber, while still eating her rice balls, placed a hand on my shoulder as a sign of comfort, and I turned to look at her and saw that she swallowed her rice ball before giving me a genuine smile, as if to tell me to hang in there. Seeing her give out that smile made me smiled back at her. Well, at least she knows my pain and is giving me support.

"You'll be scheduled to meet with Sayaka on the beginning of Monday." said Mirai-senpai, "Be sure to meet up with Sayaka by that day for your training with her, and don't be late." She then gave a teasing smile and said, "Oh, and…do be sure to have good luck dealing with Sayaka. You're going to need it."

I grumbled at that before I dropped my head down and sighed, as I just gave up and went along with it, and said, "Thanks for the moral support, student council president." I then looked back at Sayaka and said as I brought out my hand, "Well, I guess since we're both paired up together, let's…try and get along, okay, Sayaka?"

"Yeah, sure." said Sayaka, as she took my hand to shake with, before suddenly-

BAM!

"OOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sayaka suddenly pulled me close to her and she hit me in the stomach with her knees, giving me a sudden and extreme pain as I groaned from the hit she gave me, before I got down on my knees and fell on the floor while holding onto my stomach. Saber just stood and watched with a stunned look on her face as it happened.

"Ooooohhhhhhhhhh…!" I groaned in pain before I looked up to see that Sayaka had an angry look on her face.

"Just because we're on the same team together and just because we'll be working together in the Grail War, DON'T even THINK for a second that I'll go easy on YOU!" Sayaka yelled, "I'm gonna make sure that you work your ass off and you better do whatever I say until you get things right! GOT THAT?!"

I looked at her with a bewildered look for a moment, before I groaned and said as I slowly got up, "Yes, ma'am…"

"Good luck, Shindou-sama!" Aimi smiled.

"Bear with Sayaka and deal with it for a while." said Ishikawa-san, "And try not to upset her. It won't be pretty if you do."

"Have fun with each other, Yuzuru~!" Mirai-senpai teased, with a smile.

I just hung my head down in complete defeat, as I knew I was about to go through the inevitable hell that's already waiting for me with Sayaka.

* * *

Now:

I sighed at that and said, "I really can't believe this…"

"Hey, hey, Shin-chin." I heard Hibino-senpai, "What's the matter?"

"Huh?" I said, as I turned to Hibino-senpai who had a worried look on her face, "O-O-Oh, no, uh…i-it's nothing."

"Really, you sure?" Hibino-senpai asked, "You looked kinda down about something. Did something happen?"

"Oh, uh…no, not really." I said, "It's just…something came up and…well, a lot of things being going on one after another at school yesterday and…I kinda had to deal with it."

"Hmm, I see." said Hibino-senpai, before she smiled brightly and said, "Well, I don't know whatever it is you're dealing with, but don't push yourself too hard, Shin-chin~!"

I chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I won't. Thanks."

"Hey, Shindou!" Katsuragi-senpai called.

"Ah, yes?" I said, as I turned my attention to her.

"Would you mind come checking out our new employee?" Katsuragi-senpai asked, "It looks like she ready with her new outfit and wants you to come take a look at her or something."

"Ah, sure!" I said, as I finished up my work, "I'll go and see her right away."

After I finished out my work, I left to go see our new employee who I just happened to have brought in for hire. I walked until I found the changing room. I knocked on the door first and waited for her to respond as I said, "Hey, this is Yuzuru. Can I come in?"

"Ah, ja!" said the new employee, "Please, come on in."

"Then, pardon my intrusion." I said, as I opened the door and let myself in.

When I came in, I already saw who our new employee was, fully dressed as a maid/waitress, and I'm sure anyone can guess, but…it was none other than Minna, who was already smiling when she saw me. Minna was dressed in a white traditional maid uniform, which was almost similar to Aimi's. Well, except for the chest part. So, why was she working in Ahnenerbe? Well, let's just say that it all just happened this morning.

* * *

Before: morning…

It happened when Saber and I had woken up and went over to the kitchen after finishing cleaning ourselves up for the weekend, and I was getting ready to make breakfast for all of us. Well, I WAS going to and would've already done that, but well…sure enough, when I got to the kitchen, I already saw that Minna beat me to it, and what I just saw this morning actually caught me by surprise.

"Ohayougozaimasu, goshujinsama (Good morning, master)." Minna bowed to me while dressed in a maid outfit. Yup. Minna was wearing a maid outfit today. And, well, honestly, I just couldn't help but just stop and look at how good she looked in that maid outfit. And also, just from her calling me master, admittedly.

"Ahem." said Minna, as she faced up to look at me with a smile on her face, "Now then, master, would you like to have breakfast this morning? If so, please have a seat. Breakfast is all ready for you today. Ah! Or rather…if you like…" Minna gave out a cute and shy expression on her face as she said as if tempting me, "…if you like…then, you can have me, as your breakfast, master~"

My eyes widened as I began blush from her giving me that cute look while she said that, and I just…I just couldn't help but feel so…tempted. So tempted, in fact, that I felt like I wanted to just…go over to her, right now, and just hug her or do whatever it is that I wanna do to her, like…grab her, rip her clothes off and-

WHACK!

"OOOOOWWW!" I screamed, as I was suddenly hit in the back of my head that made me fell forward, face slammed on the ground.

"You're welcome." I heard Saber said. Oh, so that's what happened…

"Y-Yuzu-kun, are you okay?" Minna asked, worriedly.

The only response I could make was a painful groan.

After I recovered and got myself back up, the three of us sat down together and started eating breakfast that Minna made, which really made me feel guilty, letting her do all the work. While Saber continued eating, I decided to talk to Minna, who was still wearing her maid outfit.

"You know, Minna, I know that we're living together, but you really don't have to make breakfast for us every morning." I said, "I mean, I can take care of the cooking by myself. Besides, you're kinda like a guest in my place, so you don't have to really do anything. I'd feel bad for making you do the work when I should be doing stuff."

"Nein, I don't mind." Minna smiled, "If it's for you, I don't mind doing the cooking and chores. It's like you said, we're living together, so we should do lots of things together." Her smiled faltered a bit as she said, "Besides, Yuzu-kun, I'd feel bad for you doing everything too, all just for my sake."

"Minna…" I said.

Minna smiled again as she added, "And also, if I don't get up every morning to make breakfast, then I won't be able to be doing cosplay for you!"

I sweatdropped at that as I said, "A-Ah, yeah…t-that, uh…o-okay…" Oh, right. I looked at Minna and said, "Uh…speaking of cosplay, where did you get the maid outfit you're wearing, Minna?"

"Oh, this?" said Minna, as she looked at her outfit with a smile, before she looked at me and said, "I got it from someone from the student council yesterday. I was thinking of a cosplaying something for the morning yesterday while trying to look for clothes that would help me get your attention for the morning, and she was kind enough to let me have one of her spare maid outfits."

"Hmm?" I said, surprised, "Someone from the student council?"

Even Saber looked surprised from she heard from Minna while eating. Then, a thought came to me, as I suddenly thought of only one person who would wear maid outfits all the time.

"Shindou-sama!" Aimi smiled, in my thoughts.

"Aimi?" I said out loud.

"Most likely." said Saber, as if thinking the same thing as I was thinking.

"Ah, ja!" said Minna, "Aimi and I talked together and we just became friends now. She was a really nice person and she was kind enough to let me borrow her maid outfit."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Wow, I didn't know that you two became friends. I'm really happy for you."

"Danke, Yuzu-kun." Minna smiled, "Ah, come to think of it, I think this the first time I made a friend with someone from another country since I met you."

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, "And I think it's good that you're making friends with everyone in school. I want you to get along with people that I know around Fuyuki."

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "Danke, Yuzu-kun!"

I nodded to her before I said, "Oh, by the way, I didn't get a chance to say it, but…you really look good in that maid outfit. It's cute. I like it."

"O-Oh, really?" said Minna, as she began to smile with a blush, before she said shyly, "D-Danke, Yuzu-kun…"

I smiled back and said to her, "You don't need to thank me." Then, a sudden thought came to me, and I said to her, "Hey, Minna, you…uh…you don't really have anything to do here at home, right?"

"Oh, nein." said Minna, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, actually, I was planning on going to work right now since it's the weekend." I said, "If you'd like, then…"

* * *

Now:

And that was how I got Minna a job to work at Ahnenerbe. Surprisingly, when I told my manager (Neco-Arc) that I was planning to have Minna to work at Ahnenerbe, she actually accepted her and immediately hired her to work as a waitress. Even the other employers of Ahnenerbe, including Katsuragi-senpai and Hibino-senpai, accepted Minna into Ahnenerbe. And since she was new to Ahnenerbe and I knew her better than the others, I was tasked to watch over her and help her out n whatever she needs to do at work. Not that I wasn't planning to in the first place, anyway. Anyway, Minna was finished changing into her waitress outfit and was happily showing it off for me to see.

"Well, Yuzu-kun?" said Minna, "Does it look good on me?"

Wow. Just…wow. Seeing how good she looked in that outfit, I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, it looks good on you."

Minna smiled brightly, happy to hear my answer, and said, "I'm happy! Danke, Yuzu-kun!"

WHAAAAAH!" I suddenly heard Hibino-senpai from behind me squealed, "OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD! MINN-MINN, YOU LOOK SO CUUUUUTE! ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE GONNA LOVE YOU!"

"Ah, Hibino-san!" said Minna, "Ich danke dir sehr (Thank you so much)!"

"Yeah." I said, before I noticed something and turned to Hibino-senpai and asked, "Wait, hold on, Minn-Minn?"

"Yeah!" Hibino-senpai smiled, "Shin-chin is Shin-chin, and Minn-Minn is Minn-Minn!"

"Uh…okay." I said, "But, why call Minna 'Minn-Minn'?"

"Because I think it's cute calling her that!" Hibino-senpai cheered.

"O-Oh." I said with a sweatdrop, "Uh…o-okay, i-if you say so. Though, I don't know if Minna would-"

"I don't mind." Minna quickly answered.

"That was way too fast." I said.

"U-Umm…" we heard someone said, making us turned to see that it was Saber, who was also dressed as a waitress, except that hers is mostly blue. Yup. Saber was also working for Ahnenerbe as well. Let's just say that she suggested to come along with us to work because she wouldn't have anything else better to do at home. I guess Servants needs some outing from time to time too, as much as we humans do. Anyway, the rest of Ahnenerbe accepted her to work for us too along with me and Minna.

She walked over to us as she said, "I do not mean to intrude, but I was wondering if this is actually the right uniform for working."

"Oh, yeah." I said, "I'm sure it is. Anyway, you look good in that blue outfit."

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "It's lovely, Elaina!"

"O-Oh!" Saber suddenly began to blush, before she looked away and said almost shyly all of a sudden, "U-U-Umm…t-t-thank you…"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "What's with that all of the sudden?"

"Ah, f-forgive me." said Saber, "I-It's just…I-I'm not very used to being the center of attention is all…"

"Oh." I said, "I see."

"Hey, Shindou, Hibiki!" I heard Katsuragi-senpai called, "C'mon, we've got customers coming in about five to ten minutes! It's time to get to work!"

"Okay!" Hibino-senpai happily called back.

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, before I turned to Minna and Saber and said, "Well, anyway, we should go and get ready for work. For now, I'll tell you two what you need to do here at work, so just follow me and do what I tell you to, okay?"

"Ja, I will." Minna smiled.

"As you wish." Saber nodded.

"Okay, good." I said, "So, shall we?"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "We shall!"

After teaching them and telling them both what they needed to do as waitresses, we all began working as customers began coming in to eat and hang out at the café. It was a simple job for them; all they needed to do was just guide customers to the table they'll be sitting at, taking in people's orders, write the order down on the notebook as well as write their table numbers, and then go over to the counter and hand it over to the chefs doing all the cooking. Although, since they were new to this, I had to stay close to and watch over them to make sure they were doing it right. I first started with Minna.

"Hallo und herzlich willkommen bei Ahnenerbe (Hello, and welcome to Ahnenerbe)." said Minna in German, to the male customers who just came in, before she said normally for them to understand, "You're table will be right this way. Please, follow me."

I watched as Minna guided the two male customers to their table. So far, she seems to be doing good. Although…I think I might've saw one of them making weird and ogling faces for some reason, like they're having some sort of lewd thoughts about her.

Oh, no…

I think I might know why. Yeah, I'll probably have to go check on them and deal with it later.

Anyway, I turned to the table I was currently attending, with the customers who're just a few of schoolgirls, and I asked with the best smile I could make, "So, um…anyway, what would you ladies like to order?"

"Oh, just two cups of coffee and orange juice, please." said one of the schoolgirls, "One iced and one hot for me and my friend sitting with me, and put ice for her here."

"Got it." I said, as I wrote down the order, "Anything else? Would you girls like to eat anything?"

"Oh, no thanks." the schoolgirl politely declined, "We're not hungry for anything."

"Understood." I said, as I wrote their table number, "Your orders will be right with you in just a few minutes."

"Thanks." they said with smiles on their faces.

I turned around and began to leave to head for the counter to place in the order for their table. Well, that was until-

SLAM!

"Battles cannot be fought on an empty stomach!" I heard someone shouted, making me turn to see that it was Saber, who was attending another table. From what I was seeing, for some reason, Saber was freaking out and she was scaring a female customer out.

"What the…?" I said, before I decided to head over to her to see what was going on as I said, "Uh…excuse me, is there a problem, ma'am?"

"A-Ah, well…y-you see-"

"Yuzuru!" Saber suddenly turned to me and said, "This customer said that she only ordered a drink and said that she was not hungry to eat!"

"Well, yeah…that's the point." I said, "If the customer doesn't wanna order anything else, then just write whatever she ordered and just leave it be."

"That is something that I cannot allow, as battles cannot be fought on an empty stomach at all!" Saber shouted.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"I mean, what if they were attacked an enemy while they're hungry for food?!" Saber shouted, "What will they do when that happen?!"

"W-Whoa, hold on, Elaina!" I said, trying to calm her down, "J-Just calm down! They're normal people living in normal lives! No one's going to attack them while they're hungry for food!"

"That is something that I cannot allow!" Saber shouted, "Because even if everything DOES seem normal for everyone, there's no telling what danger that they might encounter in their lives!"

"E-Elaina…!" I said.

"U-Umm…" we heard the customer said, making us turn to her as she said, "A-Actually, i-if you don't mind, I'd actually like to have something to eat."

"Heh?" I said, surprised, "A-Are you sure, ma'am?"

"Yes, it's fine." she smiled, "To be honest, I…actually see her point, as weird as she may sound. I-I'll have mabo curry and spaghetti, please."

"Understood." Said Saber, as she already began writing down the order.

"That was fast." I said.

"And your desert?" Saber asked.

"Seriously?!" I shouted, with a sweatdrop.

* * *

Chikagi's POV:

Hibiki and I watched them from the counter as Shindou was trying to get Elaina not to bother with the customer about ordering things anymore, and I gotta be honest, it was pretty hilarious seeing Shindou trying to pull her away and telling her to leave the customer alone while Elaina was putting up a fight to stay where she was, resisting Shindou pulling her away and trying to get more from the customer, who was already scared of her.

"Chika-chan, should we do something about this?" Hibiki asked, worriedly.

"Nah." I said, already enjoying the scene that was happening, "Let's just watch and see where this goes. I'm already enjoying this so far. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Then suddenly, we saw Shindou finally pulled Elaina away from the customer, who already ran away scared, before he suddenly fell from pulling her too much, face first on the ground. Well, that ended quickly than I thought. Shindou quickly got himself up before he turned to Elaina and started yelling at her for making a mistake that she made, making her look down in complete shame and making comical tears.

We heard him sighed and said, "You know what, just…just go sit down somewhere. We'll handle all the customers and ordering. I'll have the manager talk to you later."

Elaina nodded and began walking away with her head down to find somewhere to sit. Guess it's time out for her.

"Chika-chan, the order for their table is ready." Hibiki finally said, as she handed me the tray of the order for the table I was attending.

"Ah, got it." I said, as I took the tray, "Thanks, Hibiki."

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I sighed tiredly as I went over to the counter where Hibino-senpai and the other chef (Neco-Arc Bubbles) was doing all the cooking, before I took the paper of the order for the table I was attending from my notebook and placed it on the counter as I said, "I'll need two coffees and an orange juice: one iced and one hot, and the orange juice have ice, please."

"Okay~!" Hibino-senpai smiled, "Coming right up~!"

"Un-Un-Un (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)!" the chef said, while rapidly nodding her head.

As Hibino-senpai and the chef went on working, I stood were I was and waited for the order to be ready. While I did, I began worrying about Minna and how she was doing with her side. I hope she's doing alright.

"You seem troubled, boy." I heard someone said, and I turned to see the old man (Neco-Arc Chaos) sitting at the counter while having a drink and smoking a cigar as he looked at me before saying, "Are you worried about the girl, perhaps?"

"Oh, yeah." I said, "I was just…wondering if she was doing okay."

The old man sucked on his cigar before blowing out a puff of smoke as he then said, "Then, why don't you go on and check up on her, boy? I'm sure she may need your help. I'll take over thing in your place."

"Uh…are you sure?" I said, "I mean, not that I don't appreciate it, but…you kinda have a drink in your hand and you're smoking. It'd probably be a problem for the customers. And also, should you really be drinking and smoking during the middle of work?"

"It's fine, boy." said the old man, "My drink is non-alcoholic today for I'll only be drinking alcohol at night, and I was in a middle of break. Plus, people are used to me smoking in here anyway, and well, as long as smoke's not causing fire, then there's no problem at all." The old man sucked on his cigar again before blowing out a puff of smoke as he then said, "Besides, I'm sure that you're want to concern yourself with the girl right now and to see how she's doing and to see if she's alright."

"Sir…" I said.

"It's fine, boy, so go on." said the old man, "I'll take over your work in your stead. Besides, even we want to be sure that the new employee is doing alright as well."

I stayed quiet for a moment after hearing him say that, before I nodded and said, "Well, alright then. I'll let you take over then." I turned to Hibino-senpai and said, "Hey, Hibino-senpai, I'm gonna go check up on Minna! I'll leave the work to the old man until I get back!"

"Okay!" said Hibino-senpai while working.

"Un-Un-Un (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)!" the chef said, while rapidly nodding her head and working.

As soon as that was cleared, I got off and went to go find Minna and see how she's doing, leaving the old man to take care of the work for me. I walked and looked around the café for a bit to see where I can find her. It's not too big and it's not too small for a café, so it should be easy for me to spot her. And, lucky for me, I've found her since she was easy to spot thanks to her silver hair. Unluckily, the way I found her was not exactly good as I saw that she was in a tight spot by those same guys who came in and being hit on by one of the guys who was giving perverted looks on her, the other guys was standing there watching, and Minna was already looking like she's feeling really uncomfortable.

"Oh, great." I said, "I gotta do something about this."

As I went over to where Minna was at, I heard the perverted guy said to her, "Hey, c'mon now, beautiful. Why don't you just ditch your job and come hang out with us? C'mon, let's go have some fun!"

"N-Nein!" Minna managed to say, "I don't wanna go with you! I don't wanna leave here!"

"Aww, c'mon, don't be like that." said the perverted guys, as he approached her, much to her discomfort, "C'mon, come along with us. I know you wanna have fun with us."

As soon as I got closer enough, I said with an angry look, "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?!"

As soon as I got up to them, Minna quickly noticed me before she hurriedly went over to me as she said, "Yuzu-kun!" She then hid herself behind me as she held my right arm.

I looked back at her as I gave her a worried look and asked, "Are you okay, Minna?"

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded, as she held my arm tightly.

I smiled at her, glad to know that she was alright, before I looked back at the guys and said, "Now, sir, I really don't exactly know what nor why you were doing that to her, and I clearly don't, but could you please leave, right now? Because you're making her uncomfortable here!"

"Huh?!" said the perverted guy, now looking angrily at me, "And who the hell are you, you brat?!"

"I'm one of the staffs of Ahnenerbe and the one in charge of looking after this new employee here." I said, "So, I'd like it if you would please leave her alone and not bother her again while we're working! She's not interested in going anyone else!"

The guy who was watching sighed and turned to his friend before he said, "See, dude? What did I tell you? She's already with someone else. C'mon, let's just do what he says and go. Also, he's gotta point. This is a place where we hang out and eat, not a place to hit on girls, and we shouldn't be bothering them while they're working."

"What, are you kidding?" said the perverted guy, looking at me with anger, "This guy?! What, you her boyfriend or something?! You look so fucking plain and dull, and so not a manly material! There's no fucking way a loser like you could be her boyfriend!"

"Sir, I really don't think I like the attitude you're making around here!" I said, "I'd ask that you either go back to your table and wait for someone else to take your order or just leave here now!"

"Huh?!" said the perverted guy, "What, you telling me to leave, loser?! You ain't the boss around here, so why don't you just fuck off and go back to wherever it is you came from?!" He looked back at Minna with that perverted look again before he said to her, "So, whadaya say, babe? Why not ditch this loser and come on with a real man?"

"Nein!" said Minna, as she stood behind me and held closer to me, "I'm staying with Yuzu-kun!"

"Look, you heard her!" I said, "She said no, so just leave her alone now!"

"Oh, fuck off!" he said, angrily, "You're a fucking nobody! I can take you on, loser!"

"I will SERIOUSLY call my manager on you if you DON'T LEAVE!" I warned.

"Oh, I'd like to see you try, you-!"

Suddenly, a hand that belonged to a woman appeared and held on his right shoulder as a woman said, "Excuse me, sir. Did you not hear the waiter?"

The perverted guy, now pissed that someone was interrupting us, turned around to either hit or yell at her to back off before he suddenly became and sounded fearful upon seeing who it was. Hell, even I already began to realize who it was once I saw her.

The woman that interrupted us was about 5'4" tall, in her early twenties, and had long light brown-orange hair that was tied to her right as a side ponytail, and she wore a white military-like business uniform with blue shoulder pads and black belt, a blue business skirt, white stockings and blue sneakers. She was giving off a smile; and no, I don't mean the "Hello there, I'm friendly" kind of smile, but a really, really scary smile that definitely says "Don't hurt my friends, or I'll hurt you" kind of smile with shadows casting her eyes, a devil hiding behind that gentle smile. Seeing that scary smile she was making was already scaring the living shit out of the perverted guy as he was shaking in fear.

The woman continued giving off that scary smile as she said, "He said, leave her alone. If you gonna keep make a fuss about it…then how about…I. Cool. Your. Head. Off. A. Little…Sir?"

The perverted guy shrieked in fear before suddenly bursting out running away from the scary woman, running past us all the way to the door, while screaming out loud in fear, "IIIIITTT'S THE WHITE DEEEVVVVVIIIIILLLLL!"

As soon as he was gone, the guy who was with him and watching the whole thing sighed, relieved that it was over while mumbling "I told him so", before he turned to me and said with an apologetic look, "Hey, uh, I'm…really sorry about my friend back there. He's an idiot and he really doesn't know when to quit."

"Oh, no, it's alright." I reassured, "I'm just glad that it didn't get any worse than it already has."

He went for his pocket and place a tip on the table and said, "Please take this for your trouble. I gotta go now and find my friend. Bye!" And with that, he went out to the door and left Ahnenerbe.

As soon as they were gone, I sighed in relief before I turned to Minna and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Minna? Are you hurt? Did he try to do anything to you?"

"Oh, nein." Minna reassured me with a smile, "He was just hitting on me like he did. And I'm alright, thanks to you, Yuzu-kun. Danke."

"I see." I said, relieved, "That's good." I hugged her as I said, "I'm just glad you're not hurt."

"Ja." said Minna, as she hugged me back.

"Ahh, well that's new." our savior said to us, making us stop hugging each other and turn to her, "I didn't know that you were into that type of girl here, Shindou-kun."

"Takamachi-san!" I said.

Takamachi-san chuckled and said, "You were lucky that I was here to save you and your girlfriend from trouble there; Otherwise, you probably would've lost more than just your job from getting into a fight with a customer."

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I said, "Although he kinda started the whole thing. Anyway, thanks for your help, Takamachi-san."

Takamachi-san giggled before she said, "I'm here whenever I'm needed."

"Um…Yuzu-kun, do you know this woman?" Minna asked, "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Ah, no, more like an acquaintance, actually." I said to Minna, before I introduced her, "This is Nanoha Takamachi-san. She's someone who came over to Fuyuki City in order to look into things that's happening around the city, working as a private detective or something."

Minna gasped in surprise and said with sparkles in her eyes, "Oh, wow! Really?!" Minna turned to Takamachi-san before asking, not even trying to hide her excitement, "You're a detective?!"

Takamachi-san smiled and chuckled before answering, "Something like that. I was brought here to Fuyuki by the bureau that I work for to help out the Fuyuki City Police Department on investigating some things."

"Really?!" Minna asked, amazed, "What kinds of things?!"

"Well, some things that are just like any bad things that happens in everyone's lives: criminal activities like robbery, abduction, gang fights, rape, and murder, or even some things that had destructions signed there, but these cases are more considered…unusual." Takamachi-san answered, "Something like there are strange and crazy things that's been happening around the city and all, like the strangest mysteries that are considered more difficult or beyond solving, kinda like scary and unnatural ghost stories that are becoming real."

"Wow!" said Minna, amazed, "That's amazing!"

"It's not really much, really." Takamachi-san laughed a bit, "All I'm doing is investigating and searching for things that might help the police with dealing with the difficult cases."

"Still, I think it's great of you, Miss Takamachi." Minna smiled, "Detektive sind unglaublich!"

"Huh?" said Takamachi-san, confused by her words, "I-I'm sorry, what was that?"

"It's German, Takamachi-san." I said, "Specifically, it means, 'detectives are incredible'. I know because I can speak German."

"Ahh, I see." said Takamachi-san, now understood what Minna meant, before she smiled attractively at me and said, "Thanks, Shindou-kun. That was really helpful. I think I should learn a thing or two from you!"

"H-Huh?" I said, as I began to blush while scratching the back of my head as I nervously said, "O-Oh, uh…r-really? I-I mean, i-i-it's not much, I just…I just learned how to speak it while I was in Germany, that's all."

"I see." said Takamachi-san, "Well, I think it's great of you, Shindou-kun! That's why I'd love to learn some things from someone like you!"

"O-Oh, uh…y-you think?" I said, nervously, "I-I mean, well…I-I don't mind, i-if it helps you on your duties on investigations and all."

"Yes, that would be very wonderful!" Takamachi-san smiled, before she gave out a mischievous grin and asked, "Although, should you really be saying some of those things in front of women with a blush on your face while your girlfriend is here?"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, what're you tal-"

"Muuuuuu…!" I heard someone said, making me turn to see it was Minna, who was for some reason pouting at me in a cute way, before she said raising her voice, "Yuzu-kun!"

I was confused by this for a moment before I quickly realized the situation and I said while panicking, "AHHH! N-N-No, wait! I-It's not what it looks like, I swear! I-I-I don't…I-I don't like her or anything! S-She's WAY older than me, I-I mean, not like…old-old! J-Just older than me! I-It's not like I'm into older women like Takamachi-san! I-I mean, n-not that she isn't very attractive and all! I-I mean, she IS very beautiful and I do find her attractive, but-!"

"YUZU-KUN!" Minna shouted at me, "You admit it?! You like her?!"

"N-N-No, no!" I defended, "Of course, I don't admit it! I mean, I don't admit that I like her! I-I like her as a person, but not like-like her, like in a romantic significant or anything! I-I just…!"

"Yuzu-kun…am I not attractive to you?!" Minna pouted cutely, "Do you like older women more than girls your age?!"

"N-NOOO!" I shouted, "Oh, dear god, why the hell are we even having this conversation?! We're not even dating!"

We stopped arguing as we heard Takamachi-san began laughing, making us turn to her with looks of confusion, seeing that she was laughing at us and our conversation. As soon as she stopped laughing and started calming down, she gave us a cheerful smile at us before she said to Minna, "I'm sorry. I was just messing around, and you don't have to worry about Shindou-kun liking me or me and him being together or anything. Even if I was interested in him in that way, I wouldn't even dare try to get in between you two being together. Besides, he said so himself: even if I'm attractive to him, he only likes me as a friend, not as a lover. Even I feel the same way about him."

"Y-Yeah, exactly, w-what she said." I said, "A-And besides, Takamachi-san already has a husband and a child back at her home."

"Hmm?" said Minna, surprised, "O-Oh! Really? You're already married?"

"Mm-hmm." Takamachi-san nodded with a smile, "Something like that. I have a daughter that's being looked after by my folks back at home. And my significant other is also working really hard just as I am to make our child's life much better."

"O-Oh." said Minna, "Aha (I see)." She then looked at me with a smile and said forgivingly in German, "Okay, ich glaube dir (Okay, I believe you)."

Hearing that, I sighed in relief, glad that it was over with. Thank god, Minna is so understanding.

"Plus," I heard Takamachi-san said, making me look at her as she said, "I can already see that you two are already a lovely couple. You're so cute together."

I sighed at that before I said correcting her, "Okay, look, Takamachi-san, first of all, we're not a couple, we aren't even dating. We're just childhood friends who grew up together in Germany for two years while our family was doing some business, that's all. Second of all, I'm just keeping an eye on her to make sure she's okay while she's here in Japan. That's all. There's really nothing going on between us."

"Oh, I see." said Takamachi-san, as she now understood, "Still, she sure likes you a lot. Are you sure you two aren't more than just childhood friends?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I said, although I felt a bit uncertain as I said, "…W-Well, I mean, I-I hope I'm sure. Jury's still out on that one…" I turned to Minna and said, "…Anyway, Minna, why don't you go on and help out Katsuragi-senpai and Hibino-senpai, as well as the other Ahnenerbe staff? I'll stay here and talk to Takamachi-san for a bit, if it's alright."

Minna turned to look at Takamachi-san for a moment, before she turned back to me with a smile and said, "Nein, I don't mind. Miss Takamachi seems like a very nice person, so she's okay, and she did save us a while ago."

"Okay then," I said, "I'll see you after I'm done talking and getting back to work."

"Ja, natürlich (Yes, of course)." said Minna, in German, "Wir sehen uns bald, Yuzu-kun (I'll see you soon, Yuzu-kun)."

And with that, Minna takes her leave to go and help the others out, leaving me alone with Takamachi-san.

"She was nice." Takamachi-san smiled, "You're really lucky to have a girl who likes you a lot, Shindou-kun."

"Yeah, I guess…" I said, "Anyway, Takamachi-san, I've been meaning to ask you something; what kind of cases have you been taking lately since coming to Fuyuki? Have you been taking care of any?"

"As a matter of fact, I have been!" Takamachi-san replied, "I've been looking into cases that's been going on around Fuyuki City that happens to be very unusual. One particular case happens to got me…intrigued, at least."

"What is it?" I asked, "What's it about?"

Takamachi-san looked at me for a bit before she began thinking to herself for a moment, before she shrugged as if saying 'might as well' and said, "Well, normally, I'm not supposed to tell ANYONE about detective stuffs and the strange cases that's been going around in Fuyuki because it's…well, classified. But, since it's you, Shindou-kun, I'll make an exception and tell you. But you can't tell anyone about this case or any other strange cases that I'll be telling you about in the near future. We can't let these information out and cause a panic around the city, understand?"

"Don't worry, I understand." I said, "I won't tell anyone. So, what's this case about?"

"Well," Takamachi-san looked around for a bit to see if anyone was looking or listening, before she went closer to me and whispered, "There's been some incidence that's been going on around the city during the night time, and it's been going on around and causing trouble for everyone."

"What kind of incidence?" I asked, whispering.

"Well," Takamachi-san whispered, as she took out her phone that showed a video from the news' channel, "Let's just say it's…a scary kind."

Takamachi-san pressed the play button, and the news began playing as the news reporter on screen said, "In other news, house invasions and robberies have recently been happening around Fuyuki City late last night. While it is unknown how these house invasions and robberies had been occurring throughout the homes and town, there have been many signs and evidences that there have been indeed house invasions and robberies, as there have been many homeowners and office workers who had apparently been showing signs that they have been killed as well as money being taken away from their banks."

"Whoa…!" I said, shocked, as the video even showed images of people who lived in each of these homes killed, and it was not in a very good way, and images of safes and things that holds money broken and left empty.

"And what's worse," Takamachi-san added, "Their doors and windows were already locked when these things have happened, and there were no signs of any fingerprints of those who did it, so there was no way anyone could know who or what did this or why it happened."

"Well, it's a good thing that I have a Bounded Field protecting my place." I thought.

"In unrelated news," said the news reporter on screen, "Several mysterious and ungodly shadowy figures have been appearing within the streets of Fuyuki City, appearing and causing fear and strange havoc within the night."

Huh? Wait, hold on…shadowy figures? I took Takamachi-san's phone to take a good look at the images taken on the news for a bit to make sure. On that image, there were those strange shadow figures that look like people, wondering around the streets, and without a doubt, they look like the same shadows that Saber and I had encountered back at the academy. So then, if they're here…and if people are being murdered and places have been getting robbed, then…

I gave the phone back to Takamachi-san and said to her, "I…don't really think those two are unrelated at all. They might have some sort of connection."

Takamachi-san nodded and said, "Yeah, that's what I thought too, when I took a look at those from the news. Unfortunately, the police department and I don't have any clear evidence that they might be connected at all yet, and any small evidence that we've found won't be able to help out on our search at all. At least, not yet, anyway. I even called my bureau to see if they could find anything that could help us, but it'll take some time before we could even have answers."

"I see." I said, "Then, do you know who's behind all of this?"

"Beats me." Takamachi-san shrugged, "I've been looking into criminal records to see if there's anyone that has gone through similar cases that's going on around Fuyuki, but none of them seemed to match what's going on right now. The bureau is also looking into it as well, but again, that's gonna take some time until we have the answers we're looking for, but other than that, we're all in the dark as of this moment."

"I see…" I said.

"There is one other thing that DID caught my interest, though." said Takamachi-san, making me look at her, "Have you ever heard of these disturbing rumors that's been going on in Fuyuki? Rumors about this serial killer called "Killer Clown"?"

I gasped softy at that, as I have heard of them from my friends, and I answered, "Yeah, of course I have." I then began explaining it as I said, "Killer Clown, a serial killer who's been going around terrorizing people within the shadows while wearing a scary clown mask under a hood during the night. While nobody knows who exactly the Killer Clown is behind that clown mask, rumor has it that Killer Clown goes terrorizing people in the shadows at night by targeting people who goes out at night alone, or even in groups of friends or family, and then somehow lure them into the killer's trap that leads them to their deaths, leaving no survivors to tell the tale of what had happened. The few who did survive refused to tell to the police or anyone else what had happened because they were either still traumatized and scared by what they saw what Killer Clown did or because they were being threatened by Killer Clown, forcing them not to say anything, or else they'll be killed by the killer in their sleep, or so they were told, at least from what I've known so far. But, what about Killer Clown? Do you think this killer had something to do with the case you're doing?"

"It's a possibility, yes." Takamachi-san nodded, "Because I heard from the police department that the serial killer, Killer Clown, had apparently and recently got an accomplice, to help the killer in continuing the killer's crimes."

"Wait." I said, surprised, "An accomplice?"

"Yeah." said Takamachi-san, "Apparently, this accomplice of Killer Clown had just joined the killer and the little reign of terror recently and has been helping that killer in increasing the killer's strategy on how to kill more people."

"What does the accomplice of Killer clown look like?" I asked.

"Well, it's…hard to say." said Takamachi-san, "The security footages of Killer Clown and that accomplice that we've been getting from the security cameras are awfully blurry, making hard to tell what the accomplice look like, but we did manage to tell that this accomplice doesn't wear a mask like Killer Clown and he somehow appears to be an actual clown, wearing a big weird hat and carrying a scissor as his weapon."

"Huh?" I thought, as what she just said caught my attention, "Wait, hold on…a clown with a big hat and wields a scissor…? That sounds like…maybe I should ask to make sure…?" I turned to Takamachi-san and asked, "Um…did this accomplice had any other defining features, that is considered strange?"

"Well, unfortunately, no." said Takamachi-san, "The footages were all a jumble mess of blurriness, it's hard to tell if he had anything else. If he did, I would've already noticed."

"Oh, I see." I said, before I thought to myself, "Still, at least we got a good hint on who it is that's with the Killer Clown, and there's no doubt about it; it's Caster. The same Servant that me and the others fought back at the academy."

"But in any case," said Takamachi-san, "I think it would be best that everyone should stay clear from anything that's related to Killer Clown or any of the crimes that's transpired by the killer. If those incidences and those shadows have any sorts of relation to the killer, then it's best that everyone should stay close to their group as much as possible and stay cautious during night time. There's no telling what will happen and what the killer will do if anyone gets involved in them, so we can't let anything bad happen at night. So, that means you too, Shindou-kun. Be cautious and don't let anything bad happen to you at night, and don't go anywhere near anything related to Killer Clown and the crime scenes, understand?"

"Right." I nodded, "I'll try not to."

"Good." said Takamachi-san, "And again, don't go telling anyone about what I just told you about. There's no telling who could be listening to what we've discussed and we can't cause a panic in Fuyuki City."

"Don't worry, I won't." I reassured.

"Good." Takamachi-san smiled, before she pointed and said, "For the time being though, you should probably do something about that."

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I turned to where she was pointing and said, "Do something about wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

As soon as I turned around, I saw…what I considered the most disrupting thing I have ever seen! By that, I mean that…SABER IS DISCIPLINING THE CUSTOMERS INSTEAD OF SERVING THEM!

"ELAINA!" I yelled, as I went up to go stop her, "STOP! STOP WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE DOING! YOU'RE SCARING THE CUSTOMERS!"

After that…well, let's just say everything else was a complete disaster.

* * *

After work:

Me, Minna, and Saber were already back at home after all the work and disaster that transpired at Ahnenerbe. Minna was already in the bathroom taking a shower while I was sitting at the table with my arms crossed and with a look of anger on my face as I was looking at Saber who was sitting in front of me from the other side of the table with her head down in complete shame as if she was ashamed of herself, which she is, of course. It was complete silent with the two of us at the living room, save for the sound of water coming from the shower and Minna humming to herself in there.

Finally, Saber managed to speak, "U-Umm…I-I-I'm sorry, Master…I-I let my warrior instinct get the better of me and…well, I-I made a mess of things at work…a-and I'm…truly, terribly sorry…"

After she was finished speaking, I inhaled my breath, ready to yell at her again, before I sighed as I resigned from getting angry at her further. I would yell at her again, but I think she's already apologized enough. I mean, it was her first time working at a service industry like Ahnenerbe, so I can't be too mad at her. Besides, after what happened at work today, we had already decided to have Saber work as a cashier instead of a waitress. Plus, we did have Takamachi-san volunteered to help us since she apparently used to work at a café with her family before.

"Alright." I said, "As long as you've learned your lesson, I'll forgive you."

Saber gasped with a smile, happy to know I was forgiving her, before I said, making her smile fade, "But…please, next time, don't ever do what you just did to the customers ever again! That's a suggest…no, THAT'S an order!"

Saber flinched from me ordering her that and looked as if she wanted to object, before she relented and sighed and said with her head down, "Yes, Master, understood."

I sighed in relief before I said, "Good. Glad we're clear on that."

"R-Right." Saber nodded in agreement, before she said, "But anyway, more importantly, about what you and Detective Takamachi discussed, I do believe that what you're thinking about is true, about this Killer Clown being Caster's Master."

"Hmm?" I said, surprised, "Wait, you were listening?"

"Well, no, but I did feel what you were thinking about when you were conversing with Detective Takamachi." said Saber, "You and I are connected through our pact after all."

"O-Oh, right!" I said, as I remembered, "Our pact! Right, sorry. It's easy to forget sometimes. But anyway, if you felt what I thought about, then do you think these incidences are connected with Killer Clown and Caster?"

"If those shadows that are lurking around Fuyuki are the same shadow familiars that you and I have fought back at the academy, then I believe so." said Saber, "And if those shadows are the ones being controlled by that killer and if Caster is being associated with the killer on murders, then it's likely that Killer Clown could be a mage, just like you and Mirai's faction."

"Could be." I said, "But we don't have any clear evidences on whether or not they're connected. Even the Fuyuki City Police Department is having difficult time on finding the connection, and they don't even know anything about the mage world. It's gonna be a problem, and until we have answers, there's not much we can do about it."

"Yes, it is troubling, quite." said Saber, "Still, I do believe that the only way to know for certain is to go towards those incidences directly and see what we could find."

"Yeah, if we could." I said, "But Takamachi-san specifically said that we shouldn't go anywhere near the crime scenes that may be related to Killer Clown during the night, as there's no telling what'll happen, and Killer Clown would likely be still nearby those crime scenes. Plus, we don't even know where to even start. We gotta think about this before we act."

"True." said Saber.

Suddenly, we heard a knock at the front of our door, making turned to it before looking at each other, wondering who it was.

"Maybe it's Yukitsuki-san." I said, as I began to get up, "I'll go check."

"Wait!" said Saber, signaling me to stop, "Allow me do it."

I was confused by this as Saber began to get up and walked to the door, before she manifested her armored glove on her right hand and summoned her invisible sword. That's when I quickly understood. Saber must be being cautious. She raised her left hand and reached for the doorknob before she placed her hand on it and held onto the grip, but didn't turn it to open the door yet.

She turned her head towards me and said to me telepathically, "Master, give me exactly one minute before I open the door. If it's an enemy behind that door, I'll strike before they attack us."

I took a moment to look at her for a bit, as I took in what she said to me, before I said back to her telepathically, "Okay, got it."

Saber nodded at me with a smile before she turned back to the door with a serious look and closed her eyes and waited for a moment while I mentally counted down for Saber to hear. Honestly, I don't wanna think that the enemy had suddenly found us and wanna think that it's a normal person, but…well, just in case, we'll have to fight back. Here we go.

… … … … … … … … … …

…3…2…1…now!

As soon as I mentally said that, Saber quickly opened her eyes, turned the doorknob, slammed open the door, and quickly raised her invisible sword to whoever was and swung at them to strike them down, until we heard a scream of a girl, making Saber stop her attack and I quickly got up to the door to see who it was. And, much to our surprise, it was Sayaka who was at the front of our door and on the ground as she had fell back on her butt from the surprise attack from Saber.

"Oh!" I said, surprised, "Sayaka, it's you!"

"Sayaka!" said Saber, just as surprised as I was, "S-Sorry!"

Sayaka grumbled angrily before she quickly got herself back up and quickly walked past Saber towards me and then yelled at me angrily, "YEAH, IT'S ME, YOU DUMBASS! DO YOU KNOW THAT IT'S RUDE TO ATTACK A LADY WHEN SHE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FUCKING GODDAMN DOOR?! WHERE ARE YOUR FUCKING MANNERS, HUH, DUMBASS?! WERE YOU TRYING TO FUCKING KILL ME OR SOMETHING?!"

"Ah, no, no!" I said, backing away with my hands up, "S-Sorry, sorry, I-I just…w-we thought you were an enemy or something!"

"AND YOU JUST WENT UP AND TOLD SABER TO ATTACK PEOPLE?!" Sayaka yelled at me, "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY, YOU STUPID IDIOT?! COULDN'T YOU AT LEAST TRY TO SENSE PEOPLE AND TELL WHO'S FUCKING WHO?!"

"OH, C'MON, GIVE ME A BREAK, WOMAN!" I yelled back, "I DON'T HAVE A SIXTH SENSE!"

"THEN START TRYING TO DEVELOP IT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka yelled.

"LIKE HELL I CAN!" I yelled.

"Alright, that's enough, you two." We heard someone else say, making us turn to see it was Mirai-senpai, along with Ishikawa-san and Aimi.

"Senpai?" I said, surprised, "And Ishikawa-san and Aimi?"

"What are you all doing here?" Saber asked, as she dismissed her armored glove and weapon.

"Oh, well, as of today, we shall be moving in here at this apartment complex." Said Mirai-senpai, "So, we will be living next door to you as apartment neighbors."

"Huh?" I said, surprised and confused, "Wait, your moving in here? Now? Why? Don't you already have a home?"

"We do." said Mirai-senpai, "It's just that since we're in the Holy Grail War, we've decided to move somewhere else for a bit to find another secret base of operation. And, since we're in an alliance, I thought it would be very beneficial and efficient to live in the same place together to keep each other in touch and make sure one and the other are safe and sound."

"O-Oh, I see." I said, now understanding, "So, in short, you plan to live in the same place with me temporarily until the wars over."

"Correct." said Mirai-senpai, "Plus, we need to keep in check on the Bounded Field here to make sure that it remains intact, otherwise the barrier will weaken."

"Wait, check the Bounded Field?" I said, "I thought the Enemy Masters and Servants won't be able to attack our base so long as the Bounded Field is there to protect us."

"Come now, Yuzuru, you cannot always expect the Bounded Field to last forever." Mirai-senpai chuckled, "Any enemy Masters or Servants, or even outside mages, can easily break into the Bounded Field if it is weakened. That's why need to keep it in check to make sure that the Bounded Field doesn't weaken and remain intact, or else if left uncheck, the field will die out and you won't have anything that shall keep you safe."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Besides," Mirai-senpai added, "Us being together here will make the perfect opportunity and much efficient to get you ready and train you to learn Magecraft from us. It would be best to get you prepared than not."

"Yeah." I said, "That seems like a good point."

"Yuzu-kun!" Minna called, as she got out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body, "Who is it at the door?"

As soon as she got out to see what was going on and to see who it was at the door, Minna had a look of surprise for a second before she smiled brightly as she came to us until she was in front of Aimi and held both her hands and said happily, "Aimi, it's good to see you! What're you doing here?"

"Ah, Minna-sama!" Aimi smiled back, "It's good to see you as well! Well, my companions and I are currently moving in to this apartment today, so we shall be living next door to you as your neighbor."

"Oh, ich verstehe (Oh, I see)!" said Minna, in German, "Das hört sich wunderbar an (That sounds wonderful)!"

"Yes, quite!" Aimi smiled.

"HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Sayaka shouted at Minna, "PUT SOME FUCKING CLOTHES ON! THERE'S A FUCKING IDIOT BOY HERE!"

"That's hurtful!" I thought to myself.

"Oh, it's okay." Minna smiled, "I don't mind at all if it's Yuzu-kun."

"YOU SHOULD MIND!" Sayaka shouted.

Ishikawa-san just stood there and watched them with a sigh while Aimi giggled.

Mirai-senpai walked over to me and said with a chuckle while we watched Minna interacting with the three, "Your childhood friend sure is quite interesting, isn't she, Yuzuru?"

"Ah, yeah." I said, "She's…kinda always been that way since we were kids. Minna is…well, she's free-spirited, I guess."

"And quite forward with her feelings for you." Mirai-senpai added.

"Ah, yeah, that too." I said.

"Well, anyway," said Mirai-senpai, "With that being said, does this place of yours have any quarters that we can use?"

"Oh, uh…" I said, as I looked away awkwardly, "Well…"

* * *

"Hey…!" said Sayaka, sounding irritated, "What…the fucking hell…IS WITH THIS PLACE?!"

We were looking at another apartment room at was next to mine and, like from the beginning, it was a reek room all filled with boxes and big piles of unnecessary garbage all over the place. In fact, all the apartment rooms still are. Though, I have been cleaning some of them out one by one with slow progress with Saber.

"What?" I said, "This is how the apartment rooms looks like."

"WHAT?!" Sayaka shouted, incredulously, "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU LIVE IN A FRICKING DUMPSTER OF A PLACE?! AND YOU CALL THIS PLACE AN APARTMENT?! I MEAN, LOOK AT THIS PLACE! HOW THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU EVEN LIVE IN THIS DUMP?!"

"It's not my fault!" I shouted back, "This is the ONLY place that I can afford to live in!"

"What, you mean you can't find any other place for you to live in or buy a house of your own to call it a home for you to live in or something?!" Sayaka shouted, incredulously.

"Hardly!" I said, "I don't even have enough allowance of my own to even buy a house for myself! The only thing I can do with my allowance is buy groceries and shit!"

"Wow." said Sayaka, "My god!"

"Oh, goodness me." said Aimi.

"Unbelievable!" Ishikawa-san grumbled, as she held the bridge of her nose.

"I'm surprise you even LIVE in this shithole!" said Sayaka.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Mirai-senpai chuckled, "Alright then, let us get to work on this mess and start cleaning out everything here."

"Oh, we're gonna start cleaning this room?" I asked, "Well, if you want to then-"

"Oh, no, no." said Mirai-senpai, "What I mean by 'we' is…my companions and I will take care of the work."

"Wait, what?" I said, confused, "W-What do you mean?"

Suddenly, with a snap of Mirai-senpai's fingers, her three friends suddenly left and came back with clean-up equipments with ridiculously fast speed and started cleaning up the place with the same ridiculously fast speed. They were doing all the clean-up really fast, from carrying boxes and trashes, to sorting out glasses and plastic bottles, to washing remaining dishes, to sweeping floors, to…man, they were just working ridiculously fast that I couldn't keep up with what they were all doing! Hell, even Saber couldn't keep up with what they were doing as she was giving out dizzied eyes!

And before we even realized it, Aimi had stood in front of us with a smile on her face and said, "There, all done! The apartment is cleaned, Ojou-sama!"

"…W-Wait." I said, confused, "What?"

"Well done, everyone." Mirai-senpai nodded, "Now, let's settle in."

As Mirai-senpai entered the apartment, I looked around to see that they room was already cleaned and cleared of space, all spotless, all the furniture set up nice and neatly, the window was somehow fixed; hell, even the couch that was a complete mess was already fixed and sewed.

I was in disbelief as I said, "Okay, what just happened?"

"I…do not have any idea, either." said Saber, in bewilderment.

"Oh, why, we had simply cleaned out everything in this whole apartment complex, Shindou-sama." Aimi answered.

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, everything? Y-You mean, like 'everything' everything?"

"Yes." Aimi answered with a smile, "'Everything' everything."

… … … … … … … … … …

"Wait, hold on!" I said, as I quickly went out to check on something.

I quickly went to the room next to Mirai-senpai's and opened the door to take a look inside and, well, much to my surprise, the room was just as neatly set and completely all nice and clean as the room Mirai-senpai will be staying at. I then went to check on another room. And then another room. And then another one after that. In short, they were all cleaned!

"W-Wait, how…?" I said, confused, while coming back to Mirai-senpai and the others, "How did you all even-? OWW!"

Sayaka flicked me in the forehead and said, "We live in a freaking mansion, you stupid idiot! Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something for once!"

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I realized what she meant and said, "O-Oh, right! S-Sorry. I forgot that you live in a big house."

"Wow, you really forget some important details of people, don't you?" said Sayaka, with a deadpanned expression.

"Well, no need to worry about that." said Mirai-senpai, "Anyway, let's have something to eat for dinner. Yuzuru, would you mind lending us any ingredients and cooking utensils that you may have in your place."

"Oh, us…sure." I said, "But, uh…what're you gonna cook?"

* * *

"And dinner is ready!" Aimi smiled, as she placed the last dish of dinner on the table.

Me, Minna, and Saber all came over to Mirai-senpai's place to eat dinner with them. On the table were a plate, a bowl, and chopsticks, one for each of us saved for Aimi. For dinner tonight, we were having a huge bowl of easy fried rice, a large plate of teriyaki salmons, six small plates of stir fry vegetables, six plates of omurice, and a large plate of baked tonkatsu; all of them were well-made, elegant, and all looked really delicious. In fact, we me and Minna were completely amazed how great they looked while Saber was already drooling with her eyes sparkling.

"Now, everyone, please enjoy." Aimi smiled, "Dig in."

Mirai-senpai and the other two sat down together as they placed their hands together in prayer and said, "Thank you for the food." They then took their own bowls and chopsticks to begin eating.

I looked at Minna who gave out a smile and nodded before I looked at Saber who was nodding a lot eagerly with sparkles in her eyes. I sighed and shrugged while saying, "Might as well."

The three of us sat down and placed our hands together in prayer as we said together, "Thank you for the food." We then took our own bowls and chopsticks to begin eating.

I filled my bowl with fried rice and a teriyaki salmon. I picked up a piece of salmon along with some fried rice with my chopsticks before I placed them in my mouth and chewed on them. And, whoa, my god, it tasted…really…

"…Delicious!" me, Minna, and Saber said altogether, after tasting our food.

"Of course, isn't it?" Aimi smiled, "I am very confident and proficient at cooking."

"Ja!" said Minna, while happily eating her meal, "It's very good!"

"It's delicious!" said Saber, while eating.

"You know, you should take some cooking lessons from Aimi sometimes." said Mirai-senpai, "She could teach you a thing or two."

"You know, I'll consider that." I said.

Saber brought out her now empty bowl as she said, "I shall have seconds, please."

"Wait, already?!" I shouted, surprised that Saber had just finished her first bowl.

After dinner was over, Aimi took the dishes and went off to the kitchen sink to clean them out while we sat together at the table and have some tea to drink. Yukitsuki-san came over at some point and had joined us in having tea with us.

"You know, I was actually quite surprised that you'd come here to move in, Student Council President Tohsaka." said Yukitsuki-san, "And I was also quite surprised that every junk in all the apartment rooms have all been cleaned out giving us lots of spaces."

"You have my companions to thank for that." said Mirai-senpai, "They had done all the cleaning for you."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, thank you for that. Anyway, is there a reason as to why you'd come moving in here?"

"Actually, yes." said Mirai-senpai, "You see, my manor as of this moment is currently under reconstruction and I needed a place to stay for a long while until reconstruction is finished. So, I decided to come move here for the time being, because I hear that this apartment complex is quite decent."

"R-Really?" said Yukitsuki-san, surprised, "But, no one's been living in these apartments in years, and I'm the only one managing this place as my uncle is sick at the hospital."

"You do have Yuzuru here as the current resident of this place, do you not?" Mirai-senpai reminded, "Despite the…poor environment that this place is, he remained to be a part of this resident of this apartment without any compliance of any sorts, no?"

"O-Oh, yeah!" said Yukitsuki-san, "That's right."

"I didn't really have much of a choice, though." I said.

"And besides," said Mirai-senpai, "I have absolutely no problem in living in a "plain" living quarters that's peaceful and quiet and is clear of any distraction of any sorts. It'll help us stay focus when it comes to doing our work."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san.

"Speak of, I also require Yuzuru into helping me in regards of my work." said Mirai-senpai.

"What kind?" Yukitsuki-san asked.

"It's mostly things that involves student council work." said Mirai-senpai, "It's not too complicated. He'll mostly be helping us in dealing with paper works, heavy lifting, documents sorting, anything that the student requires him to do to the best of his abilities. It'll help us beneficially as it will be busy work."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "I didn't know that the student council would be this busy."

"Ja." said Minna.

"It's quite normal for us student council members to be busy with work." said Mirai-senpai, "But, in any case, that is why we came to move here so that he could be of assistance to us. Of course, he as agreed to the terms, right Yuzuru?"

"Ah, yeah." I said, "I-I did."

"Ah, wow!" said Minna, amazed, "You are such a good person, Yuzu-kun!"

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san, "Well, if he's okay with it, then I have no compliance about it, so you and your friends can live here if you want. Besides, it's mostly rent free here anyway."

"Thank you." said Mirai-senpai, "I'm glad we've come to an agreement. Anyway, Yuzuru and my vice-president, Sayaka, will be going out of town for a while to do some errands for me, by tomorrow first thing in the morning. Is that alright with you, Yuzuru?"

"Yeah, sure." I said, "I mean, you did schedule me to be with Sayaka anyway."

"Good." said Mirai-senpai, "Then it's settled. Well then, we shall turn in for the night. Have a goodnight."

"Right." said Yukitsuki-san, as she got up and went off to go back to her room, "Well, goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight." I said, as I began to leave as well.

"Goodnight!" Minna smiled, as she followed me.

"Goodnight." said Saber, as she also followed me.

"You better be seeing me tomorrow." Sayaka reminded.

"Yeah, I know." I said.

With that, we all went back to our rooms and went to turn in for the night.

* * *

Morning:

I was in my casual clothes, waiting outside of the apartment for Sayaka to go off to Shinto Town. Mirai-senpai, Ishikawa-san and Aimi had already went out to go look for the other Masters and Servants while Saber is watching over Minna while they're going out shopping. So, looks like my training with her starts there. But what exactly are we gonna do at Shinto town? That thought ran in my mind for a while until-

"Hey, you stupid idiot!" I heard her called me.

I turned around to see Sayaka was in her…school uniform? Wait, doesn't she wear anything casual?

"…what?" said Sayaka, crooking her eyebrows, "Why are you looking at me weird for?"

"Uh, no, nothing!" I said, "I-It's just…why are you dressed in your school uniform? Don't you wear any casual clothing?"

"Why in the world would I be wearing casual clothing?" said Sayaka, with her hands on her hips, "This is what I always wear. You got a problem with that?"

"Ah, no, no, it's…it's just…n-never mind…" I gave in saying anything, before we began walking our way to the city, "So, uh…what're we doing?"

"Well, first, we're going into town to go and find a weapon for you." said Sayaka, "Something that's well suited for you in combat."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, what does that have to do with magecraft?"

"It doesn't." said Sayaka, "At least, not yet, anyway. Magecraft is important when it comes to fighting, sure, but that doesn't mean we should always be reliant on them, not for those without any assets to them, at least. Depending on the mage themselves, weapons can be used like conduits that can be best suited for their fighting style. Take me for an example; I use my handguns as my ideal weapons for my fighting style, as I use them for long-range combat attacks. You've already seen it first hand when we fought against Caster before, didn't you?"

"Ah, yeah." I said, as I remembered our fight against Caster, "You were a good shot, by the way."

"Thanks, though flattery will get you nowhere." said Sayaka.

"Wasn't really trying to." I said, "So, anyway, what about Ishikawa-san and Aimi?"

"Hiroko mostly fights in close-range since she always uses her sword, so she's always direct with her opponents." said Sayaka, "I'm also a close-range fighter when I need to be, as I know the arts of using guns in martial arts, though I don't really need to be if it's unnecessary for such situations. As for Aimi, aside from healing, which makes her a support, she's the most balanced out of us, both close-range and long-range, though she mostly relies on her speed and agility to give her the advantage in combat. Basically, she's the swiftest and fastest out of us. Lady Mirai, on the other hand, is considered the most balanced out of everything, and is considered the most powerful out of all of us as she is the heiress to the Tohsaka family trained by the family head, who practices and styles in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts rather than using weapons."

"I see." I said, as I remembered my fight with them before Caster, before I began imagining Mirai-senpai, "Yeah, I can see Mirai-senpai being way that powerful than anyone else, even me, since she can fight with bare hands. Hiroko was pretty good at using that sword of her when I went up against her, and Aimi was pretty fast and strong when I fought against her back at the school; I could barely keep up with her."

"Well, you did unlock your Magic Circuits in time to take on Aimi and Hiroko on even ground, else you would've been dead." said Sayaka, "Speaking of Magic Circuits, you should know that people can develop Magic Circuits and not necessarily be from the mage families; it's a mutation that's super rare, but it happens, just as you did."

"Really?" I asked, surprised, as I looked at my Magic Circuits that were glowing in my arms, "I didn't know that. Is there anything you know about Magic Circuits?"

"Well, glad you're interested in wanting to know." said Sayaka, "And yes, there is. Magic Circuits reside within the magus's soul, and what is found on the body is just a physical expression of them that stretches itself throughout the body in a fashion similar to the nervous system, just like your Magic Circuits are now. In other words, the Magic Circuits that you have are within your soul."

"Wait, seriously?!" I said, even more surprised, "Whoa! Holy crap! S-So, uh…what then, am I-?"

"And before you say it; no, you're not a robot!" said Sayaka, bluntly, "You're still human. It's just the Magic Circuits are always a part of us human without any of us even noticing it unless you're a mage."

"Oh." I said, "Huh. Uh…o-okay. Uh, g-glad to know then."

"Anyway, as I was saying," Sayaka continued, "They are composed of core components, which are the actual Circuits so to say, and bypasses that connect those components to the brain. Magic Circuits do not change and once damaged they cannot be repaired. Because organic activity is necessary for the operation of Circuits, it is a common mistake to think that they are literally a part of the magus body. There are rare occasions in which the Circuits continue working even after the practitioner's body has ceased all vital functions. In these cases, destruction of the brain is necessary to stop the Circuits. Their Quality and Quantity are ranked through letters like magecraft, and their Composition often varies between magi. Like any other organ, the number of Magic Circuits that one possesses is determined at birth and cannot decrease or increase naturally, meaning that those from older lineages will be more powerful, but it is possible to change that number artificially through a number of methods. One of those methods is through the establishment of a mystic pass between two magi from which the Circuits can transferred. As the Circuits are located in the soul, a fusion of body and mind is required during the transplant. However, the process carries the same risks and complications as a transplant of organs. Furthermore, as the Magic Circuits become unstable if tampered while in use, there is a possibility of mutual destruction if a contract similar to that between a magus and his/her familiar has not been established beforehand. For that and other reasons, lineages of magi seek not to tamper with the Circuits of their members while they are alive, but rather try to produce descendants with the greatest "extra" number of Magic Circuits possible. Note that number is not everything, and quality and precision of the Circuits are also an important factor that differs from lineage to lineage."

"I see." I said.

"As I said before, a normal person rarely acquires Magic Circuits, but in these cases, they are considered as sudden mutations." Sayaka added, "Still, the Circuits are ultimately something unnatural for the human body and their activity will cause pain and numbness to the magus. Their very presence in the human body is something uncommon and an ordinary person will have little to none. Also, the use of Magic Circuits increases the magus bodily temperature, which can have a mage to discover other enemy mages, or in this case the Masters, on the battlefield through the employment of a thermal sensor. In other words, they can track you if you're not careful with your Magic Circuits."

"I see." I said.

"Magic Circuits are "opened" when magical energy is run through them for the first time." said Sayaka, "From that point on, the user can activate them at will through the use of a mental trigger. The image that is related to that trigger will differ from a magus to another: For me, my image is the sound of a gun firing an organic heart making it burst and splatter into pieces, Hiroko's the slashing of a sword cutting her entire body until her whole body bled to nothing but red, while Aimi's the screaming of a woman in a powerful and hazardous sandstorm. Though, there are also those that can only use that trigger under predetermined conditions, such as after performing self-injury or when sexually excited."

"Damn." I said, "Wait, what about Mirai-senpai? What triggered her to open her Magic Circuits?"

"That's…well, that's something that you'll have to ask Lady Mirai about yourself someday." said Sayaka, "Just, not now. I'm…not really sure if you wanna know about that yet."

"Oh." I said, "Well, okay, sure. If you say so, then…I won't pry any further."

"Good." said Sayaka, "Anyway, depending on how a magus is, they can possess and have about a variety amount of Magic Circuits; an average magus usually possesses about 20 Magic Circuits, while those of powerful linage of mages have about more than an average magus."

"I see." I said, "Then, since I'm an average guy and I'm only starting as a mage, I have about 20 Magic Circuits right now. Can we develop our Magic Circuits?"

"Sure, you can, but I wouldn't recommend doing so." said Sayaka, "Because trying to develop and make more Magic Circuits, whatever procedures or methods that you may use, is always a very dangerous procedure, as failure would result in the body breaking down from the inside out and even with success the resulting pain would be comparable to inserting a hot iron rod into the spine."

"Oh." I said, as I began to imagine that, "Ouch."

"Yeah, you really wouldn't want that." said Sayaka, "Unless you wanna try out that pain, I recommend that you wouldn't wanna try that out. Not yet, at least until you're ready."

"Right." I said, "Got it."

"Anyway," said Sayaka, "Like you said, since you started out as a mage, the amount of Magic Circuits you have is about the average magus. Meanwhile, Hiroko, Aimi, and I possess about 40-50 Magic Circuits, while Lady Mirai possess about 60 Magic Circuits with subs that are 30 each."

"Holy crap!" I said, surprised, "That's a lot! Though, then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since you guys have been training in the mage world for a long time."

"Yup!" said Sayaka, proudly, "With lots of practices, training, push-ups, sit-ups, and plenty of juices!"

"Wait," I said, confused, "What does that have to do with-?"

"But, in any case," said Sayaka, cutting me off, "We should focus on what kinds of weapons that you can use that'll fit you perfectly for your fighting style in combat. We'll leave all that Magic Circuits stuff and crap all to Hiroko and Aimi when you train with them next."

"O-Oh, uh…r-right." I said, "Right, okay. Got it. So, where should we start?"

"Well, first," said Sayaka, "Let's start with the weapons that's suited for me and see if they work compatibly well for you."

"Uh…wait." I said, confused, "How?"

* * *

"Welcome to our gun store, Shoot 'Em and Beat 'Em." said the gun store shop lady, as she turned to us, "How may I help you today?"

"Hey, Shiori!" Sayaka happily greeted, "I'm here for the usual practice here at the shooting range!"

"Ah, Sayaka!" said the shop lady, now named Shiori, "How great to see ya again, love! You lookin' as fine as a dandelion!"

"Aww, shuck." Sayaka smiled, "Thanks."

"A gun store…out of all the places, it had to be a gun store." I thought, with a look of disbelief.

Shiori looked at me before she glared at me and asked, "And the hell's this scrawny little puke?"

"Ughhh…" I groaned.

"Oh, him?" said Sayaka, "Ah, this idiot here's Yuzuru. He's my good luck charm."

"Please don't treat me like I'm an object-"

TWHAAAAAMMM!

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!"

I was suddenly punched in the stomach by Sayaka, knocking me out of air, and making me fall and knelt to the ground while covering my stomach and groaning in pain from that really hard punch.

"You shut the fuck up, you stupid idiot!" Sayaka shouted me, before she turned around, returning to her smiling form and said to Shiori, "Anyway, as I was saying, I'd like to try out the usual practice in the shooting range today, so I can have this stupid idiot try out some guns."

"I see." said Shiori, "Well, honey, you are my favorite regular here, you're always welcome to here to practice ya shootin'. And if that little scrawny brat with you, I'll let 'em in. Just be sure he better be careful now, dear."

"Thanks!" Sayaka smiled, "I most certainly will!"

I managed to get myself back up after recovering from that hit and managed to get some air back into my lungs as I breathed in and out slowly.

"Okay, ya scrawny puke, get over here." said Shiori, glaring at me, "Hurry and pick yer gun 'fore I change my mind."

I groaned and said, "Yes, ma'am…"

After I had picked out a handgun for me practice with, me and Sayaka went down to the shooting range to practice shooting with the gun that I'm using. The shooting range that we were at was…well, loud. Like, really, really loud. It was loud from all the gun shots that was happening from people practicing with lots of guns that they were using, so much so that I had to cover my ears from the noise. They were using eye protectors to protect their eyes from the flashes that their guns were making from shooting and earphones to cover their ears from the sounds of gunshots. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of those for myself. Although, looking at Sayaka, she looks like she's really used to the sounds of gunshots being made at this shooting range. Then again, she does use handguns so it makes sense.

"Hey, uh…Sayaka?!" I asked, loudly a bit so she could hear me from the sound of the bangs of gunshots, "I-I know we're hear to train me, but why this place?! And, shouldn't we get like protective eye wears and earphones or something?!"

"No." Sayaka answered, as we were in our station of the shooting range, "The enemy wouldn't give us time to put on protections or anything like that. It takes too long for us to do so. Plus, it's better to keep it real, and prepares us for real life situations."

"Oh." I said, as I now understood what she meant, "okay, yeah, that's actually a good point. Yeah, keep it real."

"Yup." said Sayaka, as she handed me the gun that I'll be using to shoot, "Now, let's see what you got."

"Right." I said, as I took the gun, "Okay, now. Let's see…uh…"

I took at look at my handgun for a moment; it was a CZ-USA 85 Combat that Sayaka hand-picked for me to use. I rose my hand up with the gun in both my hand and aimed it to where the target practice sheet is at. Well, here goes.

I aimed my gun at it and then…huh? Wait…what the-? I tried pulling the trigger but…it wasn't working! Wait, what the hell?! I grunted as I tried to pull the trigger harder, but it wasn't working. Shit!

"What the hell are you doing?" Sayaka asked, while crooking her eyebrows.

"Arugh…dammit, it's not working!" I grunted, as I tried to pull the trigger, which was still getting hard to do, "D-Dammit, I think it's stuck! Pull, dammit! Errrgh!"

"Oh, for god's sake, give it here!" said Sayaka, as she brought her hand out to hand her the gun, and I did so. Sayaka took a look at the gun for a few seconds before she turned something on the back of the gun and said with a deadpanned expression as she gave me back the gun, "You forgot to turn the safety off, you stupid idiot."

"Oh." I said, "Huh. Uh…right, my bad." I took the gun back and then went back to my position and what I was doing. I aimed the gun held in both my hands at the target sheet, ready to fire at it. Okay, here goes; for real this time.

Ready…? And…

BANG!

"WHOOOA!" I screamed, after I pulled the trigger and fired. Holy shit! Goddamn, this thing is powerful! I think I might've blinked on that one! After the first shot, I took a look at the gun with wide eyes, shocked at how powerful and dangerous guns can be. Damn…I had no idea Sayaka, or anyone with a gun, could pull that off.

I then took a look at the target sheet and saw that I…I hit nothing. I hit nothing. Really? Really?! I hit nothing?! Seriously?! I missed the target?! How?! How could I have missed?!

"Okay, that's it…!" I said to myself, as I aimed the gun at the target again. I pulled the trigger and fired again.

BANG!

I didn't blink this time, and I made sure I fired at the target sheet. I took a look again and see that…I hit nothing. Again. I hit nothing again?! Seriously, how can I miss?! I aimed at the sheets and started pulling the trigger and fired multiple times.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"OW, SHIT!" I screamed, as I stopped pulling the trigger and put the gun down because I pinched the inside of my hand, "Dammit…! I pinched the inside of my hand!"

Sayaka sighed and muttered, "Goddammit, you idiot." before she went over to pick up my gun and take a look at it.

"I don't think the side on this gun is quite calibrated enough." I said, "I mean, the way I was shooting was looking a bit-"

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!

Suddenly, Sayaka was shooting with the gun that I was using at the target sheet, making me startled and flinched from the sound of the gunfire that she was making with the shots with the gun.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!

Sayaka looks at the gun again, before she turned the safety back on and gave it back to me by slamming the gun on my chest and said, "You were off a centimeter or two, you dumbass!"

"Ow!" I said, as I rubbed my chest from that slight pain, before I looked at the target sheet and saw that, unlike me, she…holy crap, she did a number on that target sheet! Hell, she even made a headshot like…I-I don't know, five, six time?

"Just so you know, I'm a professional marksman when it comes to shooting using pistols and handguns." said Sayaka, "You should try paying attention sometimes."

"Huh." I said, before I asked, "So, are you left-handed or right-handed?"

"Both." Sayaka answered.

"Oh, so you're ambidextrous." I said, "Okay, that makes sense, since you use two guns with both hands. Well, looks like a handgun won't do for me. Maybe I should try something bigger, like, I don't know, maybe a shotgun or something. Might give me a better fire power than-"

I heard a sound of a gun cocking and I turned to see that Sayaka was already carrying a shotgun as she said while handing it to me, "Here, a shotgun. This'll help."

"Oh." I said, surprised for a bit, before I took it and looked at it for a bit, and honestly, all I could say was as I was impressed, "Wow! Nice!"

"Yup." Sayaka smirked.

"Yeah, now we're talking." I said, before I readied myself and said, "Hey, Sayaka, you might wanna step back a little bit. I think this thing's got a little kick to it."

"Sure." said Sayaka, as she did so.

"Okay, now buddy!" I said to the target sheet as if it was an enemy, now confident thanks to this shotgun, "Let's see how you handle this, when I blow you into pieces with this baby here! Oh-ho, yeah, it's ON NOW! Ta-!"

BAAAAANNNNNGGG!

As soon as I pulled the trigger, however, as the shotgun fired, the force of that shot from the shotgun had suddenly caused me to be forcefully knocked out backwards landing towards a dumpster as I screamed, "OH, SHIT!"

Sayaka was then laughing from what just happened to me before she said while still laughing, "Yup, just like you said: it's got a little bit of kick to it!"

"OOOOOooooohhh…!" I groaned in pain from that impact earlier.

"What's wrong?" Sayaka laughed, "Stomach in your ass?"

"Worse…" I groaned, "I-I think…m-my whole organs' in my ass…"

"Yeah, looks like guns won't work for you." said Sayaka, "Let's move on."

"This gun should be banned…" I groaned.

* * *

After we left the gun store, we went out walking in the streets of Shinto Town to look for another weapon shop, which hopefully doesn't involve guns because I am so done with them after that shotgun.

"So, where do wanna go next?" Sayaka asked.

"I don't know." I said, "Don't you know any stores that doesn't involve guns? Because after what happened with the shotgun, I am so done with guns."

"Hey, it's your fault for picking something that's WAY too powerful for you to even handle." said Sayaka, "And besides, that shop earlier is my favorite place to go to and is the only gun store that'll let me practice. Plus, it's a place where I got a second handgun of the same gun I have since I was a kid. Have you seen my guns, by the way?" She turned around and took out one of her handguns to show me as she said, "They're called the Browning Hi Power, and they're a very popular firearm. The single action only trigger is a throwback to the classic 1911 design. It's light, smooth and breaks evenly. The reset is very short as well as tactile and audible. The steel frame is an excellent example of why steel frames are still viable. It's strong, but light, and makes the weapon thinner overall. The comfort in the hand is top notch and by far one of the most ergonomic designs. The Hi Power actually served as an inspiration for the CZ 75, another 9mm handgun on this list. The Hi Power has inspired dozens of different features on modern handguns and that is why it is the number one 9mm handgun. And, they are my favorite guns in the word, and they happen to be my dad's favorite."

"Wow." I said, "That's…lovely, I guess. Still not gonna use a gun anymore, though."

"Wasn't telling you to." Said Sayaka, as she put her handgun back in her holster, "Anyway, since we can't have you use guns, instead maybe we should try to find some weapons that might interest you. So, tell me, what kind of weapons are you interested in?"

"Hmm…let me think…" I said, as I thought about it for a moment. Well, actually, there are weapons from the one thing that I've always been interested in.

"Well, I AM actually into weapons from stories of the Arthurian Legend." I said, "Weapons like the holy sword Excalibur or the swords and lances that knights use and stuff."

"Hmm, I see." said Sayaka, "So, in other words, you're into eastern styled weapons of the old English times and during the time of monarchy. If that's the case, we'll need to find a weapon of an old English that suits you well for your fighting abilities. So, what kind of eastern weapon would you prefer?"

"Well," I said, "I have been working on my sword skills with Saber every morning, and since swords is something that I'm kinda good at, I think I'll go with a sword."

"Okay, we'll go with that." said Sayaka, "Anything else, or are you good?"

"Nah, I think I'm good for now." I said.

"Okay then," said Sayaka, "Once we get you a sword that might work for you, we'll work on your fighting style by tomorrow. So, for now, let's go find a shop that sells swords. Once we do, let's find you a sword that's to your liking."

"Right, then." I said, before I shouted, "Let's go get me a sword!"

* * *

"I CAN'T FIND ME A SWORD!" I cried out loud, as we COULDN'T even find a SINGLE STORE that SELLS SWORDS!

It was already night time, and we have looked everywhere in Shinto Town and we couldn't even find a store for swords! Goddammit! Oh, man, and to make matters worse, I think I'm already sweating from all the walking around this huge city.

"Will you quit complaining already?!" Sayaka shouted, "We've only been walking around the city for eight hours after lunch this afternoon, and we've only been looking through fifteen stores that sells weapons!"

"Yeah, weapons that have ONLY FUCKING GUNS AND KNIVES!" I shouted back, before I yelled, "AND THE LAST STORE THAT WE WENT TO ONLY HAD JAPANESE SWORDS, THAT HAPPENS TO BELONG TO THE YAKUZAS, AND WE WERE ALMOST KILLED BY A YAKUZA WHO HAPPENS TO OWN THAT FUCKING STORE!"

"OH, QUIT YOUR BITCHING ALREADY, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka turned around and yelled at me, "AT LEAST WE FOUGHT HIM OFF AND KICKED HIS ASS BEFORE HE COULD EVEN MURDER US!"

"YOU NEARLY SHOT ME IN THE HEAD, YOU BITCH!" I yelled back.

"YEAH, BECAUSE YOUR DUMBASS HEAD WAS IN THE FUCKING WAY, DUMBASS!" Sayaka yelled, "I MEAN, WHO EVEN TRIES TO GO UP AGAINST A FUCKING YAKUZA WITHOUT EVEN A FUCKING WEAPON OR EVEN THINKING STRAIGHT!"

"WELL, AT LEAST I DID SOMETHING INSTEAD OF JUST LETTING HIM GO OUT AND TAKE SOMEONE PASSING BY AS A HOSTAGE!" I yelled back, "I MEAN SERIOUSLY, HE COULD'VE KILLED SOMEONE!"

"YEAH, WELL, I DIDN'T EVEN NEED YOU TO GO OUT THERE AND TRY TO FUCKIGN BE A HERO!" Sayaka yelled, "I HAD EVERYTHING COMPLETY UNDER FUCKING CONTROL! I COULD'VE JUST EASILY SHOT THE GUY BEFORE HE COULD EVEN FUCKING ACT!"

"HAD THAT UNDER FUCKING CONTROL, MY ASS!" I yelled, "WE WERE ALMOST CAUGHT BY THE POLICE WHEN YOU SHOT THE GUY IN HIS LEFT EAR! WE COULD'VE BEEN ARRESTED FOR DOING SHIT AND CAUSING A FUCKING SCENE!"

"ARUGH, WHATEVER!" Sayaka yelled, before she calmed down a bit and said, "look, what's done now is fucking done! Besides, that passerby's a witness; she saw what just happened, so she'll explain to the police exactly what just happened back there!"

I scoffed and said, "Yeah, if she even knew what just happened!"

"Quite complaining already and let's go!" said Sayaka, angrily, "Let's go look for another weapon store and find a sword!"

"Look where, dammit?!" I shouted, "We've already looked through every single store around here in Shinto Town, and that last one was a gang store!"

Sayaka sighed and said with a deadpanned expression, "On the other side of Shinto Town, you dumbass. Where do you think this area is at?"

"Huh?" I said, confused, before I began thinking about it for a moment until realization suddenly hit me as I said, "Oh…Ohh! Ohh…shit." That's right! This area of Shinto Town is an area where it's close to the Fuyuki City Bridge! Crap, I forgot about that!

"Well, now that you know, let's get going." Sayaka smiled, with a hint of amusement on her face, before she rose her hand up and said cheerfully, "NOW, LET'S GO WALKING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF SHINTO TOWN ANDS GET YOU A SWORD!" Sayaka then began walking as she brought the back of her hand close to her face and began laughing out loud like a filthy rich girl would, "AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

I sighed as we were gonna go for another tiring walk around the city again before I said nonchalantly, "Yes, ma'am…"

It was a long and hellish walk to the other side of Shinto Town as my legs were already killing me to death with each step I made. Meanwhile, Sayaka was happily skipping around her way on the streets of town with a smile on her face. She was definitely enjoying seeing me going through the hell she was giving me. Dammit, she's supposed to be training me, not torturing me!

I sighed before I said to her, "Hey, Sayaka, could you please slow down a bit? My feet's already killing me from walking around for so long. It's tiring me out already."

Sayaka turned around to face me as she said with an amused smile on her face, "Well, it's your fault for always walking around trying to find a single store that's right for you, dumbass. If you had at least tried to start with this other side of Shinto Town, we would've already gotten you a weapon by now. Besides, I'm in charge of you, aren't I? So, whatever it is that I want you to do, you better do whatever it is that I say."

I sighed in frustration before I said, "Dammit, woman, what am I to you? Your freaking guinea pig? I'm not your toy for you to play with, I'm a freaking human being! You can't just treat me like I'm an object!"

"Well, you are to me." said Sayaka, "You're my good luck charm for my worst luck in the whole world, so I need you to help give me good luck or else I'll die because of my worst luck, and I REALLY don't wanna die because of my worst luck."

"So basically, you're using me as your shield so you could avoid death of bad karma." I said, "Jeez, I can't believe you! First you drag me into shit, then you get me into trouble, and now you're making me your object for your charm for the rest of your life?! Seriously, is that how you always treat guys like that or just me?!"

"Nah, just you." Sayaka laughed, "But you're a pain in the ass."

"Okay, woman, you listen right-! Ahh…!" I was about say until I gasped in complete shock, as I show something really horrifying in front of me.

"What?" said Sayaka, confused, "What's that look for?"

"U-Uh…S-Sayaka…!" I said, somewhat fearfully.

"What?!" said Sayaka, now sounding more annoyed.

"Y-Y-You…y-you might wanna…t-turn around…!" I stammered, though I managed to say.

"What?!" Sayaka shouted, even more annoyed, as she slowly began to turn around, "What the fuck is it that could possibly be so…!" As soon as she turned around, she was now beginning to see what I was saying before she said in realization, "Oh…"

Right in front of us, there was a whole ten-story building that was being covered in complete shadowy black smoke from top to bottom, from windows to doors, and the shadowy smoke was even covering and spreading throughout the ground outside. It looked as if it was being swallowed up by the darkness that was spreading, as if it was becoming haunted.

I came over right next to her as I asked, "What the hell is this?! What in the world's going on?!"

"I don't know." said Sayaka, "But whatever this is, it can't be good."

"D-Do you think that…there are people in there?" I managed to ask.

"It's possible." said Sayaka, "Though I highly doubt that they made it out alive, if we even knew what happened here."

"No…" I said quietly, before I turned to Sayaka and said, "W-We can't just leave it this way! We can't leave these people in there! They could need help!"

"Don't be stupid!" said Sayaka, with a serious look on her face, "We can't just waltz in there and save people who're trapped! There's no telling what this shadowy smoke is and what it could do to you! Whatever this smoke is, it could kill you!"

"Well, we have to at least try something!" I said, "What do you suggest we do?! We can't just leave innocent people who could be in that building!"

"Look, I get what you're trying to say, but we need to come up with a plan first before we can even go in there!" Sayaka argued, "If we just recklessly charge in there without even knowing what the hell it is or what the hell is going on, then we'll be finished before we can even figure things out! We should call for backup and-!"

"But we won't even have enough time for that!" I shouted, "I can't just sit here and do nothing while there are people in there who could be in danger!"

"Now you listen right here, mister!" Sayaka shouted at me, "Don't you fucking start arguing with me on this! I'm a first-rate mage and you're a fucking newbie, so I have far more experience with this shit than you do, so you listen to ME and do EXACTLY what I say to you!"

"But-!"

"DO WHAT I TELL YOU, DAMMIT!" Sayaka yelled.

I was taken aback by the way Sayaka had yelled, as if commanding me to obey the order she was giving, and I could see the look in her eyes that she was dead serious about this. I…I…I know that I'm not like Sayaka and everyone else, and I know I should understand that I'm incapable of doing anything right now, and I should at least listen. But…but…

I turned to look back at the shadowy smoking building. There are people in there, who're trapped in this building; people who needs help, and we're the only ones here, the only ones who can. I…I can't just…stand here and do nothing at all while people in there are in danger! If…if I can't save any other people in that dangerous building right in front of us, then how the hell am I supposed to keep my promise to Minna and protect her as a hero that she needs?!

I shook my head before I looked at Sayaka and I shouted, "No, screw this! I can't just stand around and do nothing! There are people in there who needs help and we have to do something before it's too late! And…even if I'm incapable of doing anything with magecraft, there's gotta be at least something I can do to help! So, I'm doing this, even if it kills me!"

With that, I turned myself around and began running as fast as I could into the building. I'm not backing away from this! I have to do this!

"H-Hey, wait!" I heard Sayaka behind me, "You idiot, come back!"

I didn't listen to her, as I kept on running into the building without even stopping or turning back.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

"H-Hey, wait!" I shouted, as I watched that stupid idiot ran forward into the building, "You idiot, come back!"

But he didn't listen to me, and he just kept on running into that shadowy smoking building without even giving a moment to turn back.

"Gaah, that idiot!" I said, frustratedly, as I readied my weapons before I began running after him to follow him, "I can't believe him!"

* * *

Normal POV:

From afar, a mysterious figure dressed in black and wearing a clown mask underneath the black hood watched at the top of another building as Sayaka entered the shadowy building to go after Yuzuru who entered before her without thinking. As soon as they both were inside the building, the figure smiled behind the mask before the figure took out a book and opened it, flipping over a few pages, before the figure began chanting a spell in a different language as the figure repeatedly chanted, "Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir. Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir. Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir. Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir. Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir. Bahath waqutil, walbahth watadmir... (Search and kill, search and destroy. Search and kill, search and destroy. Search and kill, search and destroy. Search and kill, search and destroy. Search and kill, search and destroy. Search and kill, search and destroy) …"

As the figure repeatedly chanted those words, shadowy figure slowly began to rise up from the ground and floated in the air for a moment before they slowly landed on the floor, and brought their faceless shadowy heads up before they slowly began walking towards the building. The figure continued to chant the words, creating more and more shadow figures to appear and move towards the building.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I was now inside the building and I looked around the building to see that there were people lying on the ground, not even trying to get up or even trying to move every inch of their bodies. I went up to one of them, a male, and turned his body around so that I could see his face and see if he's alright. But, when I did so, I saw that the man was limp and had his eyes closed. No way…could he be dead already? I turned my head and placed my ears on his chest to hear anything inside, like a heartbeat or something, or maybe a sound of breathing going on, and thankfully, much to my relief, there was still a heartbeat being heard inside; faint, but still there. Plus, his chest was slowly rising up and down, which meant he's still breathing.

"If he's out like this, then he must be unconscious." I said, as I laid him back down, "What about the others?"

I went to check another body nearby, a woman, and I turned her around and lifted her up and, just like the man before, she was limp and had her eyes closed. I picked up her hand and checked on her pulse, and luckily, it was there. I then checked on her breathing by placing my finger close to her noise, and thankfully, there was air coming in and out of there, which meant she's still breathing. Which means, she's unconscious, too. If that's the case, then it must mean it's the same with everyone.

I heard Sayaka already running towards me with her guns out before she slowed down to walk as she looked around the place while I went to pick up a nearby metal rod for me to use as a weapon for a while.

"Everyone around here seems to be unconscious." I said, "Which is really strange. It's like the whole building had suddenly fallen asleep and they never woken up."

"Yeah." said Sayaka, "It must be because of the air around here. This shadowy smoke that's going on in here must be causing people here to fall asleep. It doesn't seem too dangerous, though if left here like this for a long period of time, people here will eventually die in their sleep and become sleeping corpses."

"Damn." I said, "Well, can we dispel this whole thing?"

"If we can find what's triggering this, then yeah, we can." said Sayaka, "Though it's gonna be difficult since this is a ten-story building, which means it's really huge. The trigger could be anywhere in this building by now."

"Dammit." I cursed.

"Well, we're lucky that we're still mages since this air doesn't affect us, otherwise we would've already been falling asleep like the rest of them here." said Sayaka, before she looked at me sternly and said, "But still, don't just go rushing in here without even thinking first! What would've happened if this air here was completely poisoned?! You would've already been dead the moment you came in here, you stupid idiot!"

I flinched at her telling me that before I said apologetically, "Uh…sorry."

Sayaka sighed and said, "Well, no use dwelling on that now. Anyway, we should be careful around here from now on. There's no telling what kinds of things that could hap-"

Suddenly, I saw something coming from behind Sayaka as the figure prepared itself to attack her, before I quickly ran to her as I yelled, "SAYAKA, LOOK OUT!"

I quickly caught her and made us dodged to the floor in time before the figure attacked horizontally. I quickly got myself up and attack with my metal rod but was parried by the figure, creating a spark for a brief moment, and knocking me back to the floor. I managed to recover quickly and got myself back up, though, just to see who our assailant is right in front of us, and to my shock as I gasped, it was a shadow figure familiar, the same ones that Saber and I had encountered and fought. Sayaka and I quickly got up from the floor and looked around the place.

Suddenly, me and Sayaka were surrounded by those shadows; the same shadow familiars that Saber and I had encountered back at the school. They were all suddenly appearing and coming out from every shadows of the building we were in, forming into human-like beings.

"Those thing...!" I said, shocked.

"What?!" said Sayaka, confused.

"Those shadow familiars!" I said, "They're the ones' that Saber and I had encountered back at school, and the ones that have been causing trouble around the streets during the night! I think they're related to Caster and his Master!"

"WHAT?!" Sayaka shouted, before she hit me in the back of my head with her gun, which hurts like hell, and then yelled at me, "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING SOONER, YOU STUPID IDIOT?!"

"OWWW!" I said, rubbing the back of my head, "Hey, don't blame me, I was busy trying to survive from you guys that time, I didn't think they were important!"

"Augh, goddammit!" Sayaka cursed, as she readied her guns, "Well, we better deal with this now! Let's try and take out this mess!"

"R-Right!" I said, as I held up my metal rod, readying myself to fight.

The shadows were already beginning to grow closer and closer to us. Me and Sayaka were back to back with each other as the shadows surrounded us, and we waited the right moment to strike.

"Okay, listen!" Sayaka whispered for me to hear, "The moment they attack us, we'll split up and fight them off on our own. It'll be much easier if we took them out individually rather than as a group. We'll only be easy targets if we tried to stick together."

"Right, okay." I whispered back, "Sounds good to me. While we do that, let's try to find the trigger that's causing this smoke and take it out, where it is."

Sayaka nodded with a smirk and whispered, "I'll see you when you find that trigger."

"You, too." I whispered back, "Good luck."

"You're the lucky one here, not me." Sayaka whispered, before she turned back to the shadows and said with confidence on her face, "For now, show me what you got!"

"Right!" I said, readying myself to fight.

As soon as the shadows suddenly began moving fast and began to attack, Sayaka and I split up and dashed forward towards our enemies on opposite sides and began fighting them off.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I raised both my guns up and began rapidly firing at the shadows that were charging right in front of me. I took out ten of them with headshots, before I turned to my left and slide sideways and shot four of them in their legs. I then tripped one of them and fired at the shadow's faceless face before I got up on my feet and shot the two that were coming at my side, before I quickly turned and shot the ones coming from my front and my back. I turned my head to see a shadow incoming with a metal rod to strike, before I quickly turned and took him out with a roundhouse kick to the face, aimed at the rod and fired it, making span around and forward before it hit a shadow, stabbing the rod at its chest, and then jumped and flipped backwards from and incoming shadow holding at knife before I landed on its back before I fired with my two guns at a shadow from the front, and the fired at another from the back.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I swung at a shadow and took it down with my metal rod before I turned and parried at an incoming attack from another, before I then dashed forward and stabbed it in the chest, destroying it. I then quickly turned around and blocked an attack from an incoming shadow before knocked its weapon way and struck from above at its shoulder, taking it down. I turned my head to see three of them coming down to attack me before I quickly rolled over to the front to dodge them just in time, before I quickly blocked their attacks as they dashed towards me. I managed to knock their weapons away and swung my rod and took them out one by one. I then went for another one coming at me.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I kicked one shadow to a room, breaking the door in the process, and went in to that room before I turned to the door and fired at the shadows that intended to come in. I managed to take out sixteen of them before some of them came in to attack me. I slap kicked one in the face before turning around and side kicked another in the stomach, before I turned around again and crossed my arms forward and fired at two incoming shadows, and then jumped up and span around and rapidly fired in circles, shooting down the shadows. As soon as I landed on the ground, I looked up and saw it was all cleared, before I pointed my gun behind me and fired at the shadow without even looking.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I parried a shadow holding a rod before I stuck it down with mine, before I quickly blocked an incoming shadow holding another metal rod and then pushed it back and swung my rod at the side to take it down. I quickly crashed my way into another room through the wall and rolled over forward before getting up and turning and around and quickly got into my fighting stance. More shadows loomed in and went to attack me with knives in hand before I quickly managed to block and parry all of them and then swung at their sides and took them out, before I quickly turned around and blocked the ones from behind me and knocked their weapons away before I swung and struck them down one my one until they were gone. I then got out of the room and went running to find the trigger for the shadowy smoke.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I shot down a shadow in front of me before I turned to see that the stupid idiot was already going ahead of me by going up the stairs.

"Heh." I smirked, "Don't think you'll be getting ahead and beat me to it yet, you idiot."

I then ran forward towards where the elevators are and quickly went up to one of them and pressed the up button and waited for the elevator to come down. And I waited.

… … … … … … … … … …

And I waited.

… … … … … … … … … …

And I waited.

… … … … … … … … … …

And I waited.

… … … … … … … … … …

And I wai-Okay, you know what, this is ridiculous!

I quickly and repeatedly pressed the up button again and again and waited for a response from it…which never came.

"Okay, what the hell?!" I shouted, frustrated, "How the fuck is this piece of shit not working?! It should've already-! Wait…" That's when I noticed something in the elevator and suddenly, I realized…it was broken. It was broken. It was broken! This was broken! THIS PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT IS FUCKING BROKEN?!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed out loud, angrily, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH! AUGH, GODDAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIITTT! AAAAUUUGGGHHH! JUST MY FUCKING LUCK!"

Suddenly, I heard some noises, and I turned to see that more shadows were coming out from the shadows on the ground.

"Augh, dammit!" I shouted, as I reloaded my guns and readied myself, "This is JUST my fucking luck!"

I then charged at them with an angry yell to fight them.

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I ran up some stairs and ran around in each floor to find where the trigger could be hiding while taking down shadows on the way. I couldn't find one on the second floor, so I went for another flight of stairs to go to the next floor. The third floor didn't have the trigger either, so I went for the fourth floor. Then to another floor, and then another floor, and then another floor. I kept on going up the stairs and searching through each floor until I made it to the top floor, the tenth. Unfortunately, like the rest of the floors, the tenth floor didn't have the trigger as it couldn't be found anywhere in either rooms nor offices. But there was one thing that was different; there was a sudden strong pressure that's so strong that it felt like it was trying to push me down, making my body feel heavy, and it was all coming from above.

"Damn…!" I said, as I was feeling the pressure, "I…I feel so heavy…!" I managed to look up at the ceiling before I said, "And it's all…it's all coming from the above…! Then, that means that…the trigger…must be coming from the roof…!"

I struggled but managed to keep myself back up and slowly started moving back to the stairs to go to the rooftop. I had to go to roof and make it, to stop the trigger. I have to make it!

Luckily, I managed to have made it up to the rooftop, and I took at look around to find where the trigger is. At the rooftop, all I could see all around me were lots and lots of dark shadowy smokes covering everywhere, making things difficult to see. What was worse, was that the dark shadowy smoke was slowly growing and growing, and it was slowly seeping out of the building, spreading and about to reach out towards all of Shinto Town. Dammit, if this whole smoke spreads throughout the whole town then…! Dammit…! I gotta find that trigger…!

"W-Whoa…!" I suddenly almost tripped, as my legs suddenly began to feel like jelly, before I quickly managed to hold my ground and stood strong. I was suddenly feeling weak as I felt myself getting heavy and I had to use my metal rod to hold my balance. Dammit…the effects of this smoke…it must be kicking in already…! Dammit, I have to hold on…!

I slowly tried to move my now tired body as I slowly began walking over towards the shadowy smoke to hurry and find the trigger. I couldn't let the effects of this smoke get to me. I had to hold on as much as I can. I slowly walked and walked through the smoke and looked around to find where that damn trigger is located at this roof. But, the smoke was already too thick for me to even see anything, and the effects of the smoke was already starting to kick in, and I was already starting to become really, really tired.

Then suddenly, I fell down to the ground, dropping my metal rod, as I was now starting to become really sleepy, so much that even when I tried to reach my hand out, I just…I felt like I…I really…really want…to go…to sleep…I just…can't…seem to…move…on…any…more…

BANG!

WHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

I quickly opened my eyes and gasped as I finally woke up and clear air was starting to come back into my lung, and I finally quickly got up off the ground to look around to see that the shadowy smoke was mostly gone and that everything around me was finally clear for me to see around now. How did…? Then, I remembered hearing a sound of a gunshot, and I turned around behind me, and I saw Sayaka had finally arrived just in time to save me, as I saw he gun was out; she must've taken a shot fired to clear out every shadowy smoke in the way. And…oh, my lord, she does not look good! Her hair was a complete mess and she had dirt and bruises all over herself, and she looked really angry, like she had to go through hell to get here.

Sayaka angrily stomped her way over to me before she grabbed me by arm and picked me up before she said angrily, "You know, in hindsight, you should've just waited for me to come over, you dumbass!"

"Sayaka?!" I said, surprised, "W-What happened to you?! What happened to your hair?! And how did you-?"

"I FOUGHT MY WAY OVER HERE, YOU DUMBASS!" Sayaka yelled out angrily, making me flinched.

"Oh." I said, "Well, that answers all my questions."

"Anyway, here." said Sayaka, as she brought out a yellow gemstone from her pocket, "Swallow this. This'll prevent the effects of the smoke from affecting you."

"Uh…okay." I said, as I took the gemstone and looked at it nervously for a moment, before I decided to just do it and placed the gemstone in my mouth before I swallowed it, which by the way, was very, very hard, so it's really best NOT to try this at home. As soon as I did so, my body began to glow yellow for about a few seconds before it was gone, and I could already feel the effects of the smoke already wearing off.

"Huh." I said, amazed by what just happened, before I looked at Sayaka and said, "You know, frankly, I'm just glad that you're here right now, Sayaka."

"Yeah, damn right you should be." Sayaka scoffed, "You'd have been dead already and I would've already lost my good luck charm and suffer the worst fate because of my bad luck."

I sighed and said, "Well, I'm just glad that you kinda care for and worry about me."

"I don't care for you I want to, you stupid idiot!" said Sayaka, "I only care about you because you're necessary! Don't get any wrong ideas!"

I chuckled and said, "Sorry."

"Well, anyway, take a look over there." Sayaka pointed, and I turned to where she was pointing at. Right in front of us, at the center of the rooftop, there was what looks to be a giant smoke machine that was producing the dark shadowy smoke, spreading it out everywhere and leaking it out slowly into the city.

"You think this is it?" I asked, "That's the trigger?"

"Most likely." said Sayaka, "If it's that powerful enough to produce this much smoke, then it's likely that it'll create more of these shadow things we fought, and they'll likely go out and kill people in their sleep at night."

I gasped before I looked at Sayaka and asked, "Wait the second, you knew that already? You knew the connections between them?"

"Yeah." said Sayaka, "I only heard about the rumors while I was out searching for other Masters and Servants and just figured it out now. You, too, I assume?"

"Well, yeah, I…had a feeling, but I just wasn't too sure." I said, "But, while we fought against those shadows, I noticed that there were some who attempted to kill people in their sleep, and I was certain; they're the ones causing the murder around Fuyuki City. And I know only criminals would be the ones pulling out plans to steal things and money and murder people, and there's only one criminal in Fuyuki that could be doing murdering spree and stealing shit."

"Killer Clown." Sayaka guessed, "Yeah, I've heard about that criminal, but I honestly didn't wanna believe it."

"Yeah." I said, "And if he could pull off things like magic like what's going on right now, then he must be a mage somehow, and if he's connected with Caster…"

"…then Killer Clown is the Master of Caster." Sayaka finished.

"Yeah." I nodded.

Sayaka sighed in frustration before she said, "Augh, goddammit! So, now we have a fucking psychopath that's lurking in the Holy Grail War! Just great! Just my luck!"

"I don't think luck has anything to do with it." I said.

"Well, whatever." said Sayaka, "Anyway, let's hurry and destroy this trigger before it spreads out through the whole town. It may not stop Killer Clown's plan completely, but it should at least throw a wrench in the work."

"Right." I said, as I began to move forward, before I quickly stopped as suddenly, more shadows started to appear from the shadowy smoke, and I cursed, "Shit!"

"Of course, they're not gonna make that easy." Said Sayaka, as she readied her guns, "Okay, Yuzuru, I'll deal with these shadows and distract them, you go on and destroy that machine."

"Are you sure?" I asked, concerned.

"Trust me, I have more experience in dealing with this situation than you do." said Sayaka, "And you're the only one with a strong enough weapon that can wretch shit. It only makes sense."

"Hmmm." I said, as I looked at my metal rod, before I said, "Yeah, you do gotta point. Alright, we'll go your way."

Sayaka smirked as she rose her guns up at the shadows and said, "Alright then, let's do it, my lucky charm!"

"Uh…right!" I said, as I readied myself to run, "Here goes!"

The shadows brought out their weapons and then launched themselves to attack us. As soon as Sayaka fired her first shots at them and took them out, I began running as fast as my feet could carry me, running fast enough so that I could reach to the smoking machine to stop the shadowy smoke.

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

Once Yuzuru got a head start after taking out two of those shadows, I was suddenly surrounded by more of those damned shadows as they all brought their weapons out.

"Alright, then." I said, as I reloaded my guns, "Let's do this."

Few shadows came charging towards me before I quickly shot them down, then twirled around and fired at the one behind me before I ducked down from a weapon swung at me and then, in slow motion, did a back flip while I shot the weapon with my right gun, knocking it away, before I shot the shadow with that weapon with my left gun. Then, in back in normal motion, I began back flipping to gain distance from several shadows that intended to get me, before I fired rapidly at them and took them down. I landed on my feet before I quickly unloaded my magazines and then reloaded my guns with new ones, before I took a fighting stance ready for close-range combat at the one coming at me with a metal rod.

It went up from above to strike, but I quickly used both my guns to block it before I moved away to the left side and elbowed it to the face with my right elbow, then I brought my left hand gun and shot it at the leg before I moved my right arm around its head and used my right hand gun to shoot at its arm, forcing it to drop its weapon, then I quickly used my left hand gun and shot it at the chest, killing it, and making it disappear. Another one came with two knives and went to aim for both my head and my left side, before I quickly blocked the shadow's attack, locked both its arms with mine and then shot it at both its armpits, breaking both its arms out and then kicked it away. Another one came at me with two metal rods and tried to hit me wherever it could before I quickly turned my guns around and used the hammer grip to deflect and parry all of its attacks before I turned my gun on my right hand back to its proper hold and then shot the shadow in the head. Few more shadows began to surround me before I began twirling around in circle and rapidly fired my guns at all of them until I stopped twirling and saw that all of the shadows were gone, taken down to nothing.

"Haha!" I cheered, "And that's how Sayaka gets the jo-!"

Suddenly, before I could even finish, more shadows began to appear out of the smoke, making me bewildered from what I just saw before I screamed out angrily, "AAAAARRRGGGHHH! MOTHERFUCKER!"

Frustrated, I reloaded my guns as I prepared to fight again before I cursed, "Just my worst luck…!"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I managed to take out a shadow that was in the way before I finally made it to the machine that was producing those shadowy smokes. Looks like I can break this thing with some several swings at it and destroy it completely. Good, this could be my only chance.

"Well," I said, as I looked at my metal rod, before I looked back at the machine, "It's now or never!"

With a yell, I raised my hand with my metal rod held up in the air before I began to swing it down for a downward strike at it and hit the machine with every strength that I had. That was one, and from that one hit, the machine was beginning to break. Good, I can finish this! I raised my metal rod again before I swung it down and hit it again as hard as I could, before I then raised my metal rod and hit it as hard as I could again. I kept repeating the process of raising my rod and hitting the machine and breaking it with everything I had until I reached my eleventh one. I raised my metal rod again, about to hit the machine again really harder to break it down the machine for good, until-

"KYAAAHHH!" I heard Sayaka screamed, making me stop and turn to look at what was happening, and what I was seeing was that Sayaka suddenly had been knocked out onto the ground as there was suddenly another gunshot that was not Sayaka's, and it had shot her gun held at her right to fall off from her right hand.

"Oh no!" I gasped, before I shouted, "Shit! Sayaka!"

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

I slowly struggled to get myself back up after that sudden surprise gunshot seconds ago before I noticed that the gun that I held in my right hand was gone and I gasped in shock and fear. Oh, no! Desperately, I quickly tried looking around desperately to look for it as it was very dear to me. Then, I gasped as I had found it, my dearest gun that held for so long, but it was too far away for me to even reach.

I gasped and screamed out, "NO! MY DADDY'S GUN!"

Desperately, I got myself back up on my feet and started running to try and get to my father's gun, as it was the only thing that I had of my father, and I needed to get it back. But before I could even get to it, a gunshot was heard and I was nearly hit in the left leg, scratching me and making me tripped over to the ground.

"SHIT!" I screamed in pain, "SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!"

Before I could even get myself back up, I was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and I was turned around, and I was now facing the faceless face of the shadow, who suddenly mounted on top of me in the stomach to pin me down, making me screamed in pain. I then tried to use my gun in my left hand to shoot it off of me, but the shadow had quickly already knocked my gun away, making me now defenseless.

"No!" I shouted, before I gasped, as the shadow was now pointing its gun at my face, ready to shoot me down for good, and all I could do was look in shock and fear as I was defenseless and there was nothing that I could do.

"No…!" I thought, fearfully, "No, no, no, no, no…! Is this it…? Could this be the end for me…? No, I can't die to this…! I can't…!"

I had my eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see my fate coming to an end.

BANG!

I flinched from the sound of gunshot. But…nothing happened to me. I didn't feel anything. Wait, am I…am I still…? I looked up and gasped in shock to see that the shadow on top of me had its head blown off before it began to disappear into nothing, making me able to move as I rose my legs up and I back flipped and landed, but properly enough as I was still injured in my leg, and I tripped over a bit. Some more shadows started to approach to attack me before suddenly they were shot down by gunshots.

"Wait!" I said, confused, "What in the-?!"

"Sayaka!" I heard Yuzuru shouted, making me gasped and turned to him as his metal rod was already completely broken in half while he was holding…I gasped again, as he was holding my gun; my father's gun!

"Here, catch!" he threw the gun to me, and I caught it in time, before he shouted, "Shoot the machine! Finish it!"

Shoot the machine? I turned to where the machine is and saw that Yuzuru had almost already did a number on it, and then suddenly I understood what he meant, and I quickly got myself up and began running with a strong yell as I held my gun up and shouted in German, "Entzünden (Ignite)!"

Then, I pulled the trigger, and I fired my shot, and my bullet became a giant fireball that was as big as a basketball, and aimed at that nearly destroyed giant smoke machine before it came into contact with it, and then, it exploded with a loud 'BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!', destroying the machine for good.

With the machine gone, the shadowy smoke suddenly began to vanish from the rooftop to the whole building itself, and all the shadows were all suddenly beginning to dissipate into nothing now that they didn't have anything to support them to keep on spawning again.

"Oh…" I said, shocked at what happened, "Oh, my god…we…we did it." I smiled, "We did it!" And then I jumped up cheered, "WE DID IIIIITTT!" Before I landed back suddenly felt the slight pain again, making me fall back down to the ground, "OOOOOWWW! Ow, ow, ow! My leg!"

"Sayaka!" I heard Yuzuru shouted as he came over to me with my other gun, before he made it and knelt down to check on me as he asked worriedly, "Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?! Do you need any help?!"

I was kinda surprised of him worried about me for a moment before I said, "Ah, no, no, I'm fine! I'm fine. I'm fine."

"But, your leg…" said Yuzuru.

"Ah, don't worry about it, it's just a scratch." I said, reassuringly, "I'll manage."

"Are you sure?" Yuzuru asked.

"Yeah." I said, "Positive."

"Well then, can you still stand and walk?" Yuzuru asked.

I chuckled a bit, before I slowly got myself back up, ignoring that slight injury, until I got myself on two feet proudly, before I said with confidence, "Compared to what I had to go through, this is nothing."

"Huh." said Yuzuru, as he got up, "well, alright, then. That's good."

I sighed and said, "You know, it's kinda surprising that you'd worry about me so much. I mean, after all the shit that I put you through."

"What do you mean?" he said, "Of course, I'd worry about you, you're my friend!"

I gasped at what he just said and I looked at him with a look of surprise. Wait, what?!

"R-Really?" I said, surprised, "S-So, y-you mean to say…even after all that, you…you consider me a friend, even now?"

"Well, of course I do." said Yuzuru, "I've always considered you a friend since we started becoming one, and of course I would worry about you and make sure that you're okay, not because we're in an alliance, but because…because we're friends."

"Yuzuru…" I said.

"Well, I mean, sure, you do treat me like crap all the time, and you can be a total pain in the ass all the time, but…that's just who you are." said Yuzuru, "And honestly, that's just what I like about you, as a friend. And, really, in a way, I…I actually rely on that, because you're…you're like a sister that I never argued with."

"Oh." I said, "R-Really?"

"Yeah." he nodded.

I looked at him for a moment as I took in everything that he just said, before I gave him an angry look and looked away with my arms crossed and said, "Hmph! Well, flattery me will get you nowhere, and it's not like I apricated everything you did for me just now, so don't think that I'll show you any gratitude, you stupid idiot!"

"Ugh!" he said, stunned, before he brought his head down and sighed.

I took a look back at him a bit before I formed a smile and began, "But…"

He looked back up at me as I turned around and said, "I will say this to you: thanks, for treating me like a friend, and for putting up with lots of my shit, even my attitude. And…I hope you'll keep doing so as I keep treating you the way I treat you in the future."

He looked at me for a moment, before he smiled and said, "Yeah, Sayaka, I will."

I smiled back and nodded at him. But then, this moment had to cut short, as there was a sound of police sirens coming this way.

"Aw, shit!" I cursed, "We can't stay here any longer! We need to get outta here now! Quick, hold my hand!"

"Uh, right!" said Yuzuru, as he did so.

"Okay, here goes!" I said, before I began chanting in German, "Es ist gross. es ist klein. ¡Vox Gott Es Altas! (It is large. it is small. ¡The Voice of God is the World!)" Then, just within complete seconds, I sprinted and moved at top speed, making me move as fast as lightening and I held on to his hand much tighter trying not to let him go, as we went off to get out of here as fast as possible.

We'll let the police deal with this mess now!

* * *

Normal POV:

The mysterious figure made a 'tsk' sound after witnessing everything that had happened before the figure decided to leave the scene as the sound of police sirens was already getting close.

Having just arrived at the scene, the Fuyuki City Police Department, as well as detective Nanoha Takamachi, had entered the building with their guns armed and ready as they searched around the building and looking to see what was going on and what had happened. As they looked around they saw that there were people lying on the ground and the interior walls and doors and windows smashed and broken into pieces, making everything look like a complete mess.

"Aw, damn…!" said one police officer, "What a mess around here…!"

"Jesus Christ, what the hell happened here?!" said another police officer.

"There's people in here, we gotta help them!" said the third police officer.

"Right." said the fourth police officer, "Let's go!"

As the police officers took a look around the building while helping out the people who're lying on the ground unconscious, Nanoha Takamachi and the captain of the Fuyuki City Police Department, Captain Hayato, stood at the center and watched as the policemen searches around the area to see what had happened here.

"Well, damn." said Captain Hayato, as he dropped his cigar down and stepped on it, "This place's sure is one hell of a crime scene." He looked at Nanoha and asked, "You're the detective here, what's your take in this, Detective Takamachi?"

Nanoha looked around for a moment as if analyzing the situation, before she said, "Well, this building is an office work that just got up and started working this morning, and from what I can tell, judging by how people here are lying on the ground and haven't gotten up, it looked as if they had suddenly fallen asleep and never woken up."

"People fell asleep suddenly and never woken up, eh?" said Captain Hayato, "So, what, did they get all just get drowsy or something because they didn't get any sleep last night?"

"No, I don't think lack of sleep is the case." said Nanoha, "If it were, then they would've already just closed this place and canceled work so people can have a day off. I believe something must've happened that caused people to have suddenly fall asleep."

"You think so?" Captain Hayato asked, "But, what exactly could've-?"

"Captain Hayato, Detective Takamachi!" a policewoman called out, getting their attention, "I found someone and I think she's waking up!"

"She's waking up…?" said Nanoha, before she looked at Captain Hayato and suggested, "We should check on her for questioning, she might be able to tell us what happened!"

"Right." Captain Hayato nodded.

Both Nanoha and Captain Hayato went over to where the policewoman is, watching over a business woman who was about to wake up. As soon as they got to them, Nanoha was the first to knelt down and lifted the woman up as she said to her, "Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me? Hey!"

The woman groaned for a bit before she slowly opened her eyes and waking herself up to see Nanoha, Captain Hayato, and some policemen, before she slowly looked around and said almost in a whisper, "W-Wha…w-what…what happened…? W-What…time is it…?" She slowly looked at Nanoha and asked almost in a whisper, "And…who…w-who are you…? And…w-what's going on…? Why are…the police here…?"

Nanoha carefully and slowly brought the woman up to a comfortable siting position before she said, answering her questions, "I'm Nanoha Takamachi, a detective working alongside the Fuyuki City Police Department. We're here because we've noticed there was a strange disturbance going on around your area, and have reasons to believe that your area had been through an attempted robbery as well as strange phenomena going on here. You're work building had starting working in the morning at 8:45 A.M., until you and your workers suddenly had fallen into a state of unconsciousness. Today's time is currently 11:00 P.M."

"W-Wha…?" said the woman, surprised and confused, "W-Wait…we've been unconscious for that long…?"

"Ma'am, I understand that you're a state of confusion as to what had been going on with you since this morning," said Nanoha, "But right now, I need you to tell me exactly what had happened here before you suddenly fell into sleep. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I-I…I…I-I…I-I don't…I-I don't know…" said the woman, "A-All I remember was that…we started working this morning, and…I was doing my job, working on a project my boss assigned me to…a-and then, I…I suddenly saw smoke…"

"Smoke?" Nanoha asked.

"Y-Yes…" the woman nodded, "I-I thought that…that there was a fire going on, so I-I thought…I should let the people here know that and…call the fire department…a-and…"

Nanoha and Captain Hayato looked at the policewoman as if asking for answers, only for the policewoman to shake her head as she said, "No, ma'am. No, sir. There was no sign of fire going on in this building when we first came here."

"I see." said Captain Hayato, as he strokes his beard while thinking, "Strange."

Nanoha looked back at the woman and asked, "Ma'am, did anything else happened?"

"N-No…not that I know of…" said the woman, "B-Because, well…t-the next thing I knew, I…I suddenly felt tired, and I couldn't move my body properly…and then, before I knew it, I…I suddenly started falling to sleep, and then…then I blacked out…and now, all of the sudden, I wake up, and I find that it's already night, and I learned there was an attempted robbery here, and I...I…"

"Ma'am, it's alright." Nanoha soothed and reassured her, "It's alright. Everything's okay now. Don't worry. Thank you for telling me what you can. For now, just follow the police as they take you outside for safety. Listen to them and do exactly what they say, understood?"

"A-Ah, yes, yes, of course…" said the woman, as she got herself up on her feet, "T-Thank you, detective…"

The woman then began to walk out the door, escorted by the policewoman, while Nanoha and Captain Hayato looked on before she was out of their sight. Then a policeman came over to them and saluted before he said, "Sir, we've looked into their building's safes to find any signs of robbery going on. Thankfully, there have been nothing in the safes that's been stolen nor have there been any signs of robbery."

"I see." said Captain Hayato, "Thank you for your report. See what else you can find. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" the policeman saluted, before he turned away and went to do as he was told to do.

"Hmm." said Captain Hayato, "There's been an attempted robbery here, yet there's no signs of robbery. And what's more, there's been so signs of anyone breaking into this building, but there have been signs of things going on in the inside: walls breaking with debris around, doors broken down into pieces, and windows broken." He looked at Nanoha and asked, "What do you think this means, Detective Takamachi?"

"I don't know." said Nanoha, "It's likely either there was no robbery at all, or there was robbery that happened on the inside without anyone here knowing." She then looked around where there were lots of places in the building destroyed as she added, "And there was no way that any of this could've happened since people had already fallen asleep before this happened. It's possible that there may had to been someone or some people who had come here and stopped the attempted robbery."

"So, then, what?" Captain Hayato asked, "You're trying to say that there was someone or some people from that outside that got in to this building and somehow caused a ruckus like this just to stop a robbery?"

"Well, that IS what I'm saying, and it is what I'm thinking as a possibility." said Nanoha, "And besides, the doors at the front were already unlocked before and when we even got here. So, it's likely that they got in when the doors were already unlocked."

"Hmm." said Captain Hayato, "True, you do have a point there."

"Captain!" a policeman called, getting his and Nanoha's attention as the policeman approached them, "Captain, we found security footages that shows us what happened here!"

"Security footages?" said Captain Hayato, "But the cameras were all down before we got here."

"That's my point, sir!" said the policeman, "We found footages that had happened during the attempted robbery before the cameras were already down! We've only got the parts where it started from when people starting falling asleep to when the cameras were down, but it should be enough to help!"

"I see." said Captain Hayato, before he looked at Nanoha and said, "Well, Detective Takamachi, I say we should check it out. It might be able to help us, even if barely."

"Good idea." Nanoha nodded.

"Alright, then." said Captain Hayato, to the policeman, "Take us to the security room."

"Yes, sir!" the policeman saluted, before he escorted them to the security room.

As soon as they got into the security room, Nanoha got onto one of the computers and typed in the password that she got from the security team and then went to look into the security footages that was taken by a security camera before it was taken down, and Nanoha and Captain Hayato began to take a look at what happened in the footages as it began playing.

In the security footages, Nanoha and Captain Hayato saw at the beginning, where it began at 9:00 A.M. in the first floor, there was this strange smoke that started to appear out of nowhere, and then all of the sudden, people began falling onto the floors and started falling asleep.

"Okay, we know that's where it started." said Nanoha, "The rest was probably just like this on every floor, so let's fast forward it a bit."

Fast forwarding towards 10:50 A.M., everything in the footage was exactly the same as it was at the beginning. Nanoha and Captain Hayato took a look at the footage for a moment, waiting to see what happens next. Then, suddenly, at 10:51 A.M., something strange and unnatural had happened, making Nanoha and Captain Hayato looked at the screen in complete and utter shock.

"W-What in the hell?!" said Captain Hayato, shocked.

Nanoha got up form her chair and merely looked and gasped in shock at what she and Captain Hayato was seeing.

Within the security footage, a black shadowy figure began appear and rise from the shadowy smoke, taking on a human-like shape form. Then, more human-like shadows began to form and rise from the shadows, this time coming from the shadowy smoke that surrounded the area, appearing and manifesting throughout the entire building completely. The first shadow then looked at a camera before it manifested a handgun and then aimed at the camera, before it fired and destroyed the camera, causing the screen to suddenly go blank. The footage ended around 10:55 A.M.

Nanoha looked at the screen in silence as she took in everything that she just saw, before she slowly sat back down in her chair as she said, "I knew it…so, they ARE related somehow…"

"Huh?" said Captain Hayato, confused, "What do you mean, detective?"

Nanoha sighed before she said, "The house invasions and the robberies, as well as mysterious murders that's been going on around the Fuyuki City, and those shadows roaming around the streets within the nights, and what's already happened now, they're ALL connected. The reason as to why there were no signs of anyone breaking in to any houses or building or any signs of anyone who placed their marks on the murder scenes, it's because those strange shadows have been doing all of these things all along, and without us even realizing it at all. These shadows are the ones that's been causing murders and robberies throughout the entire city of Fuyuki."

"What?" said Captain Hayato, "S-So, then…they're the ones doing all the dirty works? You're telling me that those things magically appear out of nowhere and do all this shit to mess around and still shit? But, if that's the case, then why haven't these weird shadow things killed the people here in this building, and why didn't they rob the place yet?"

"Hmm…that's a good question." said Nanoha, "I think it's likely that these things are being controlled by someone and they were told not to do anything. At least, not yet. Possibly, they were waiting for the right timing to do something that someone wants them to do."

"Huh." said Captain, "So then, whoever it was controlling these creepy shadow things, they were setting up a trap."

"Yes." said Nanoha, as she rewinds the security footage to 10:52 A.M., before she said, "And I think there's only one criminal that could plan such things. Take a look at the screen."

Nanoha pointed at something that was on the screen for Captain Hayato to see, and on the screen around 10:52 A.M., there was a shadow marking of a clown face that appeared next to the shadow figure before it vanished around 10:53 A.M., and then both Nanoha and Captain Hayato looked at each other as they realize who that clown mark belongs to.

"Killer Clown…" said Captain Hayato, before he grumbled and punched the wall in sheer anger before he shouted angrily, "DAMMIT!" He then sighed as he calmed down a bit before he said, "To think that this clown is doing all of this, and since we now know who it is behind all of this, things are about to get worse than I thought."

Nanoha looked back at the screen and said, "Yeah…really worse."

Captain Hayato looked back at Nanoha and said, "I'll tell my policemen what I've learned. Now that we know that Killer Clown is behind all of this, we're gonna need a lot more manpower than we have now and increase more security throughout Fuyuki. Detective Takamachi, you should take that security footage and bring it back to the police department so that we can go over it with my men."

"Got it." Nanoha nodded, "I'll be sure to secure it in a flash drive."

Captain Hayato nodded before he sighed as he rubbed the bridge his noise as he said in frustration while leaving, "Dammit, this is gonna be a long work…!"

As soon as Captain Hayato left, Nanoha took out her flash drive and inserted in the computer to take the security footage with her. Before she could move the footage in the flash drive, however, something on the screen had happened, making her stop to look as it got her attention. On the screen, though it was a complete blur and completely veg, it was all happening around 11:00 P.M., thirty minutes before the police department's arrival. On the screen and through the blurriness, there was someone there, a boy, holding onto a metal rod of sorts, fighting and fending off the shadows in the building. Because of the blurriness, his face wasn't able to be shown on screen, but it did catch her interest as she gave out a small smile and said to herself, "Hmmm…"

After the police were done with investigating, they were prepared to return back home to go over their report on what happened. Nanoha had just finished her job and got out of the building and went over to Captain Hayato who was waiting for her to finish while smoking his new cigar.

"Took you long enough." Said Captain Hayato, as he took out his cigar and puffed out a smoke from his mouth.

"Just finished off with my work here, captain." Nanoha smiled, as she showed a flash drive in her hand before she tossed it over for him to catch, which he did.

"Well, looks like we're done here." said Captain Hayato, "Let's head back to our department and go over our reports."

"Right." said Nanoha.

Captain Hayato opened up the door of his police car and was about to get in, before he stopped for a moment and turned to Nanoha and asked, "Hey, Detective Takamachi, if there was an attempted robbery but nothing happened here, then…doesn't that mean that a robbery was stopped by somebody? If that's the case, then…who in the hell do you think had the guts to pull that off?"

Nanoha looked at Captain Hayato for a moment, before she gave out a knowing smile as she then turned around to look at the direction of the other buildings as she said, "Who knows, Captain Hayato. Who knows…"

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

Me and Sayaka had already made a stop to the other side of Shinto Town to take a breather as we had already gotten far away from the scene as possible, and we were already tired as hell.

"Well…" I said, as I finished catching my breath, "I think…we might've lost them…"

"Yeah…" said Sayaka, as she finished catching her breath as well, "I think we did…"

"Man," I said, as I got myself up on my feet, "That sure was a close one."

"Yeah." said Sayaka, "We're lucky to have gotten outta there on time, otherwise we would've been caught and be brought for questioning."

"Yeah." I said, "Still, I'm glad we managed to stop whatever Killer Clown is doing. I think we might've foiled the killer's attempt at robbery."

"Yeah." said Sayaka, before she looked at me and said, "Still, I didn't think you could pull it off at shooting down those shadows with ease. I thought you had a bad shot."

I chuckled before I said, "Well, I guess it looks like I really DID learn a thing or two from you."

"Heh." Sayaka chuckled, "Yeah, you sure damn did. You were still off by a centimeter or two, though."

"Yeah, I figure." I said.

"And, hey," said Sayaka, "Umm…I-I just wanna say thanks. For getting my gun back."

"Oh, you mean your dad's gun?" I said, "Well, I figured that it was really important to you, so I thought I'd get what's precious to you back before you lost it. I mean, you did say that it was yours and your dad's favorite gun, right?"

"Well, yeah." said Sayaka, "But…it's actually more than that." She took out the handgun that was her dad's, which had a red painted star that was in the center of the brown grip, before she said with a sad look on her face, "You see, this gun…that I have with me…I've had this gun held with me for a long time…because, it's…it's all that I have left of my father…"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "W-What do you mean?"

Sayaka sighed, before she turned to me and asked with a sad look, "Do you really wanna know?"

From the look on her face, I could tell that it was not going to be a good story, so I said, "No, I mean…you don't really have to…if it's too hard to talk about then-"

"No." Sayaka cut me off, before she sighed and said, "I'll tell you…"

"Uh…o-okay." I said, as I began to listen.

Sayaka took a deep breath before she began her story, "It all began with my childhood, before the incident that happened years ago…"

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

Flashback:

My father was a veteran medical doctor for the wars that was going on around the world, and I lived and traveled with him as a child. I was originally born in Japan, but due to my father's work, I was forced to travel around the world with him, and because of that, I never went to any schools, I never made any real friends or any meaningful relationships, and I never had any fun as a child. All throughout my childhood, all I had seen were fighting and sickness that was going on in the war. They were…things that even I couldn't explain it myself. All I knew that it was sad, scary, terrifying, horrible, or even worse. My father worked hard as a medical doctor for the people who were involved in the wars, while leaving me, his own daughter, to see the horrible things in the wars that I shouldn't be seeing, all the while doing nothing but watch.

Eventually, though, my dad decided to retire from his work as a veteran medical doctor, and we both went back to Japan so that we could live and have a normal and happy life. And I could finally go to school and make lots of friends, something that I could never do throughout my travels around the world with my father, and I could finally grow up, living in a normal world and in a normal life. Unfortunately, that time for me…it…it never came for me.

One day, there was a giant earthquake that happened which caused a giant flood to occur, and everyone around me was caught in the middle of the flood…including my father. And… along with everyone else caught in the flood that day…he died. And, I was the only one who had survived, as I was the only one that was never caught in an earthquake and the flood.

As a child who saw what just happened, and as the rain poured down everywhere, I tried looking for my father, hoping that he survived and made it out of that flooding, hoping he was still alive, as I searched and searched while crying out to him, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

I must had searched for hours for him in the rain, calling and crying out to him, hoping that he could hear me, hoping that he could find me. I had searched desperately for him, hoping that he was okay. But…

"Daddy…?"

The one thing, and the only thing that I ever found…was what was left of him, his right arm, an arm that was holding onto a gun that I recognized it as my father's, all while all of my father…was crushed within the rubbles from that flood, and blood was flowing out of that rubble that crushed and buried him. I was…I felt…shocked…scared…horrified…sad…heartbroken…the only parent, the only family that I had left…was crushed, buried, gone…dead, right in front of the little me.

"D-D-Daddy…!" I began to cry, cry in pain and sadness, before I screamed out loud while crying in sheer sorrow, "DAAAAADDDDDDDDDDYYYYY!"

Flashback End:

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I looked at her in shock from hearing that story, as Sayaka looked down with shadows covering her eyes, remembering that memory.

"Oh…" I finally said, "S-Sayaka, I…I-I didn't…I-I didn't know that…I…" I sighed and said, "I'm…so sorry for your loss…it…must've been hard on you…"

Sayaka looked up and back at me with a sad smile as she said, "No, don't be. I'm…kinda over that loss. Besides, I still have my dad's gun with me. To be honest, whenever I hold onto this, it's like…his soul is inside this gun, like he's there for me, to keep me safe."

"Sayaka…" I said. Before I asked, "So…how did you survived? You know, after what happened?"

Sayaka sighed before she continued, "Well…"

* * *

Sayaka's POV:

Flashback:

With nowhere else to go to, and with the gun that my dad had carried during our travels throughout the world, a memento that he left for me to carry, I walked away from what had happened without ever turning back, and I kept on going, I kept on walking, walking and walking, never even stopping for a break, never stopping and kept on moving forward, until eventually…I found myself in Fuyuki City.

I was a street orphan, and I was cold, weak, and hungry, all while wearing nothing but rags of what was left of my clothes and was walking barefooted. I was scared and lost, and I didn't know where to go in this big city. I was probably hallucinating too, because I thought I saw my father, smiling at me with a warm smile while reaching his hand out for me to grab onto. I was smiling in my hallucination as I saw my dad and thought he was here to save me, and I tried to reach out my hand, hoping that I could take it and he could pull me up into his arms. But I suddenly began felt losing the strength to go on, and I was already exhausted, and before I knew it, I passed out from exhaustion. I was so sure that I was gonna die in the middle of the streets. But…

When I woke up, I found myself in a bed, and I got up to see that I was alright somehow. And, right next me was food for me to eat, and the one who was my savior, Lady Mirai. Hungry, I quickly took the food and ate as much as I could, all the while Lady Mirai looked at me as if she was glad that she found me and was able to save me.

After we introduced ourselves and told each other about ourselves and about our past, she said to me, "Let's stick together. We'll stay together until the very end. That way, we don't have to worry about anything else."

I was surprised when she said that to me, before she smiled kindly at me and said, "Don't worry, Sayaka. As long as you stay with me, you'll have as much as you need to survive, and you'll never have to be hungry or alone again."

Hearing her say that to me, I was…happy, happy that she would take me in to be with her, all the while sheading tears of happiness and joy as I said to her while crying, "Thank you…Mirai-sama…thank you…" I then looked at her as I vowed to her, "I'll stay with you…I'll follow you wherever you go…until the very end…"

That was how I became Lady Mirai's first companion.

Flashback End:

* * *

Yuzuru's POV:

I looked at her in astonishment after Sayaka concluded her story, before I then said in amazement, "Wow. So, Mirai-senpai found you and took you in after saving you. You really must've owed her a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah." said Sayaka, "She was the only person that came to me to help me when no one else could, and I owe her my life for it, and I would happily serve her as one of the servants of the Tohsaka family and her first companion since childhood."

"Wow." I said, "You really do care for Mirai-senpai a lot, I can tell. And you really must've admired her a lot for doing lots of amazing things because of her Mystic Eyes of Precognition and Retrocognition."

"It's a lot more than that, actually." said Sayaka.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"Lady Mirai, she…she means so much more to me, she means everything in the world to me." said Sayaka, as she smiled and placed her hands on her chest where her heart is, "She's the only one true person that…I would always cherish in my heart. I…I love her."

Huh? Wait…love?

Then suddenly, Sayaka began shaking her body a lot before she began grumbling before she gritted her teeth and began growling in anger, as if she was mad about something. Then, all of the sudden, Sayaka abruptly turned around to face me with an angry look with her face beating red as she then yelled out at me, "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, I'M A LESBIAN, YOU STUPID FUCKING IDIOT! I'VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH LADY MIRAI SINCE THE DAY WE MET WHEN WE WERE LITTLE KIDS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY TIMES I FANTASIZE ABOUT LADY MIRAI ALL THE TIME, OR EVEN HOW MANY TIMES I LOOK AT HER ALL WHILE THINKING ABOUT DOING ALL THE LEWDED THINGS WITH HER?! HELL, I EVEN FANTASIZE ABOUT HER MAKING OUT AND HAVING SEX TO ME ALL THE WHILE MASTURBATING EVERY FUCKING NIGHT, IN MY FUCKING ROOM, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE FUCKING RIGHT NEXT TO HERS! HELL, I EVEN MASTURBATED TO HER WHILE I WAS IN HER ROOM, WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUCKING CLEANING UP HER ROOM! IT'S HILARIOUS, ISN'T IT?! GO AHEAD, LAUGH IT UP! LAUGH IT THE FUCK UP, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" She turned away from me as she brought the back of her hand close to her face and began laughing out loud like a filthy rich girl would, "AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

I looked at her in complete bewilderment while she laughed before I said, "Uh…you're…a lesbian?"

"AHH-HA-!" Tsukuda-san suddenly stopped laughing when I said that, before she quickly turned around to look at me with a bewildered look on her face as she asked me, "Wait…you…y-you…you didn't…you didn't know that?! Like, at all?!"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, uh…no, sorry. I just…I just thought because you're a mage and all, I didn't really think you were into romance and all that stuff. Like, at all, really. W-Why?"

Hearing that answer from me, Tsukuda-san dropped down on her knees and looked down on the ground, as if she was feeling ashamed of herself again, as she said, "I can't believe it…I actually made a fool out of myself, again…god, just my fucking luck…!"

"Oh, c'mon!" I said, "I don't really think it's that bad! I mean, you're human, you should be falling in love with someone, even if you can't say that to someone you love! And honestly, I don't really see anything wrong with you being a lesbian, as long as you really in love with someone! I mean, I know I'm one to talk, but…well, you know what I mean!"

Sayaka looked up at me with comical teary eyes and asked, "R-Really…?"

"Yeah, really!" I said, "I mean, if you love Mirai-senpai that way, then I think you should just try and go for it and see where it goes. I mean, you did grow up together with her for a long time, so I'm sure she feels the same way about you. I mean, if she knows about your feelings for her."

"Huh." said Sayaka, as if thinking about it, "Yeah, you're right." Sayaka then smiled before she got up on her feet and said, "You know, Yuzuru, for once, you're actually quite helpful!"

"Really?" I said, "Well, I'm glad."

"I'm still gonna beat the crap out of you and have you do my shit, though." said Sayaka.

"Oh." I said, "Uh…sure, okay."

"Well, anyway, let's get back for now." said Sayaka, "Today we couldn't find you a weapon you want, so we'll just have to try again tomorrow."

"Hmm." I said, as I thought about it for a moment, before I said, "Uh, actually, Sayaka, there is one thing I can use."

"Hmm?" said Sayaka, confused, "What?"

* * *

We were back at the apartment complex, in my room, where I was on the ground searching for something under my bed while Sayaka watches. Minna, Saber, and Yukitsuki-san were out shopping at the super market, as they left the note to let me know, so they won't be back home for a while yet.

"Where is it…?" I said, while searching under my bed, "I know I have it here somewhere…"

"What exactly are you looking for?" Sayaka asked.

"Hold on…" I said, before I felt something and said, "Ah, got it!"

I grabbed onto it and pulled it out of my bed, and I looked at it and got just what I needed, and Sayaka looked at it with an astonished look on her face.

"Wait," said Sayaka, "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yup, the sword of the stone, Caliburn." I smiled, "Although, really, it's just a prop, so it's not really a real thing. But I think this thing could be useful for me as a weapon, even if it's just a fake sword."

"Huh." said Sayaka, before she smirked and crossed her arms as she said, "You know, I think you're actually right. I think it might be a good weapon for you to use in a fight."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Yup." said Sayaka, "And thanks to that, we have a change of plans. Starting tomorrow, we'll be working on your fighting style with this sword after school! We'll see how much good it will do you and how much practice we'll be doing on your fighting style, so look forward to that!"

"Ah, right." I said, as I held on to Caliburn, "Let's do it together."

Sayaka nodded and said, "Yeah."

We heard a door opened and someone said, "Well, looks like you two are starting to get along already."

We turned to the door to see that it was Mirai-senpai who had just came back along with Ishikawa-san and Aimi.

"Mirai-senpai." I said.

"Ojou-sama!" said Sayaka.

"I take it that today's assigned training has gone well?" Mirai-senpai asked, as she came over to us.

"Uh…yeah." I said, "We did well together today."

"Well, that's good." said Mirai-senpai, "I'm glad to see that you two are already getting along with each other."

"Well, I just had to put up with whatever crap she's put me through." I said.

"And I had to make sure that this idiot here did exactly what I say!" Sayaka smiled, crossing her arms with confidence.

"I see." Said Mirai-senpai, "Good to know. Then, I suppose you two will continue training together tomorrow."

"Yup!" Sayaka smiled.

"Absolutely." I said.

"Good." Mirai-senpai nodded, "Well, for now, Sayaka, Hiroko, and Aimi, return to our quarters and rest up for tomorrow. You will need much energy."

"Yes, ma'am!" the three of them said, before they began leaving my place, leaving me and Mirai-senpai alone.

"Yuzuru," said Mirai-senpai, "I meant what I said that I'm glad you two are getting along. Thank you for putting up with Sayaka and her attitude, even if you may not like it."

"Ah, no, not at all." I said, "I just…did what I was told to do and followed her instructions. Plus, I really see her as a good friend. I mean, sure, she can be a pain in the ass, but…she's really a good person once you get to know her."

"Well, I'm glad you think so as I do." said Mirai-senpai.

"Oh, uh…by the way," I said, "About Sayaka…I think you should know that she-"

"No need to tell me." said Mirai-senpai, "I've already known that."

"W-Wait, really?" I said, surprised, "You knew?"

"We've grown up together since we were kids, and I've known Sayaka for a very long time, so of course I knew." Mirai-senpai smiled, "Oh, and…before you ask, yes. I, too, feel the same way. Even more so than a family."

"I see." I said, "So then, a-are you…are you gonna…like, I don't know, confess?"

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "Oh, Yuzuru, my friend…far from that."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "What do you mean?"

Mirai-senpai looked at me with a smile and asked, "Do you wish to know?"

"Uh…yes?" I said.

Mirai-senpai chuckled with that same smile, before she answered, "…divine…punishment…"

"Uh…" I said, confused and uneasy, "…t-the…the implication being…?"

* * *

15 minutes later:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh, my god…!" I said, horrified.

I stood where I was in Mirai-senpai's room and watched as Mirai-senpai was…d-doing one of two or three things to Sayaka, I'm…not really sure if I can even describe it.

"OH, GOD! OH, GOD! OJOU-SAMA! OJOU-SAMA!"

"Well, my dear Sayaka? How's this? Do you like it, my sweet pet?"

"OH, GOD, YES! YES, OJOU-SAMA! IT'S SO GOOD! IT'S SO GOOD! IT'S SO-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Yes…! Yes! Screaming for me! Squeal for me! Scream like a good little pet you are! Cry out for me more! COME FOR ME!"

"AAAHH! AAAHH! OH, GOD! OH, GOD! OH, GOD! OJOU-SAMA! OJOU-SAMA! I'M…! I'M…! I'M…! I'M…! AH-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Oh, my god! This image is definitely gonna burn into my mind!

* * *

Saber's POV:

"EEEEEuuuuuggghhh!" I said, as I felt a sudden chill coming down my spine, and I knew exactly where it was coming from and I knew exactly what was going on, as I said with a shocked expression, "Oh my god…!"

"Hmm?" Minna looked at me with a confused look and asked, "What's wrong, Elaina?"

"A-Ah, no, no!" I said, panickily, as I waved my hands around, "I-It's nothing! It's nothing! Nothing at all!"

Minna just looked at me with a confused look on her face, before she shrugged it off and turned around to continue walking while happily humming to herself, as she couldn't wait to get back home to Yuzuru.

I sighed, relieved that that it was a close call, before I whispered, "I now pity you, my Master…"

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!**


	14. Author's Note

**WARNING: Do not make a Review on this Author's Note, for After this Author's Note, I will be deleting it for another chapter of the story. Again, do not make a Review on this Author's Note. I mean it, do not make a Review on this Author's Note! You'll need it to make a Review for the next chapter of the story! Thank you.**

* * *

 **Hello, fellow readers, I hope you enjoy reading Fate/Stay Night: Precognitive Realization. So, I apologize if the story is taking a bit long, and I apologize in advance, for I have been doing a lot of things recently. Working on Job, House Cleaning, Chores, Helping Families, College, you name it, a lot of shit, etc.**

 **Anyways, Yuzuru had just finished with his training with Sayaka Tsukuda, and the next one on the list will be Hiroko Ishikawa, the sword wielder of Mirai's group, then the next will be Aimi Shimizu, and the last will be Mirai Tohsaka herself. Now, I might need some of your help on how the story will work or suggestion on how the next training for Yuzuru should go. What do you guys suggest I should do, so should I go with the same way as I did with Sayaka? I'll need all your help fellow readers and followers! It will be really appreciating, Thank you!**

 **Quick announcement, I'm going to be taking a break on Fate/Stay Night: Precognitive Realization for a while and will be working on other stories that are unrelated to the Fate Series until I have or unless you guys could give me some ideas on what to do for the next chapter and what Hiroko should do. So, until I have some ideas or unless you guys could help me give some ideas regarding Hiroko and how she will train Yuzuru, I'll be taking a break from this story for a while and work on something else. So, please help give me some ideas either through PM or Reviews. Your help will greatly benefit the story and it would be very appreciating.**

 **Finally, please be sure to leave your review on the latest chapter and what were your thoughts on it. I have not seen any kinds of reviews regarding about the latest chapter, so it would be great if you do so now, if you have or have not read the chapter, please. Or, if you are also new to this story and are catching up with the story, then please leave your reviews on each and every chapter while you try to catch up with the story. That will be even better, thank you!**

 **ALL of your reviews to the story would be really appreciated. No, really, I really want to know what you guys think, I'd really want your reviews. So, please got back to the latest chapter and leave your reviews on it. Thanks.**

 **Anyways, I hope you've read this and I hope you continue reading this story, and thank you for your support. If you have any questions regarding the story or the characters, please PM me.**


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